Pilot and passenger injured in Long Island small plane crash

NEW YORK, April 11 (UPI) -- A small, single-engine plane crashed on a Long Island residential street on Sunday, leaving the pilot and a passenger injured.

The Piper PA-28 Cherokee crashed at an intersection in Bayport, N.Y., at about 7 p.m. local time. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini said the plane experienced engine trouble and was attempting to return to an airfield before it struck a tree and some utility lines before crashing.

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation. Local fire crews doused a fire that started after the plane crashed.

The pilot, Scott Clifford, 34, was hospitalized in serious condition also suffering from two broken legs and a head injury. His passenger, Michael Rome, 65, was hospitalized and listed in a fair condition. No one on the ground was injured.

The plane crashed about one block away from a rural airport grass runway. The plane managed to avoid striking surrounding homes.

"This is nothing short of a miracle, both that the airplane did not hit any houses and any other individuals," Sini said. "We're talking about a Sunday evening at 7, clearly people could be out and about."