One Dead in Plane Crash; Cessna Hits S. Hackensack Post Office

SOUTH HACKENSACK – One person was killed when a small plane crashed Friday evening near Teterboro Airport shortly after the pilot radioed that he was running low on fuel, authorities said.

Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, said a small Cessna struck the South Hackensack Post Office building on Huyler Street.

The crash occurred shortly before 9:30 p.m.

It was not immediately clear whether the person killed was aboard the plane or on the ground.

South Hackensack police said the pilot was injured, but a police spokesman said he did not know the extent of the injuries or whether anyone on the ground was hurt.

Arlene Murray, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the plane, a single-engine Cessna 177, was en route to Caldwell Airport, but was diverted to Teterboro after the pilot reported an engine problem.

The crash site is less than a half-mile from Teterboro Airport, one of the nation’s busiest small airports. It handles a steady stream of corporate and small package delivery aircraft and had more than 200,000 arrivals and departures in 2004. Neighbors and local officials have complained for years that Teterboro is a danger to the surrounding communities.

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