The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Photographer Killed by Taxiing Vintage Aircraft at New York Airfield
The 67-year-old woman was photographing an Aeronca L-3 when the aircraft struck her.
A taxiing aircraft struck and killed a photographer Friday at Catalano Airfield (1NK6), a private airfield in Wilmington, New York. According to the Times Union, 67-year-old Pamela M. Haselton was photographing a 1943 Aeronca L-3 Grasshopper when the accident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. EST.
New York State Police said 77-year-old James J. Catalano landed the aircraft at Catalano Airfield and taxied toward a hangar. Haselton had placed a tripod-mounted camera on the runway and attempted to move it as the airplane approached. Police said Catalano did not see Haselton or the camera before striking her. Emergency personnel attempted lifesaving measures, but Haselton died at the scene.
Haselton worked as a wildlife and landscape photographer and exhibited her work at a local library earlier this year. In a separate 2024 accident in Kansas, an aircraft’s spinning propeller killed another photographer. New York State Police, the FAA and NTSB are investigating Friday’s accident.