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EAST PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (AP) — A pilot radioed for help just before his small plane crashed into the yard of a Long Island home and burst into flames, killing him.
An air traffic control recording archived on the website LiveATC.net captures the moments before Tuesday morning's crash.
The pilot tells the controller, "I need your help, sir."
The controller asks if he's declaring an emergency. Part of the pilot's response is garbled, but he says he's decided to return to the airport from which he departed.
The plane crashed between two houses on a tree-lined street in East Patchogue moments later.
Police identified the pilot as Hanan Shoshany of Queens. The 53-year-old was the only person aboard the plane.
A mother and infant inside one of the homes were not injured.
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