© Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press Richard Rockefeller in 1999.
Dr. Richard Rockefeller, son of the billionaire and prominent philanthropist David Rockefeller, was killed Friday morning when the small plane he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff, according to a spokesman for the family.
Dr. Rockefeller, 65, was the only person on board the plane, which the authorities identified as a Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Dr. Rockefeller took off from Westchester County Airport at 8:08 a.m., departing from Runway 16 into dense fog and steady rain. Less than 10 minutes later, the Federal Aviation Administration notified airport officials that it could not reach the pilot.
At 8:23 a.m., the local police reported that the plane had crashed less than a mile from the airport, near Cottage Avenue in the town of Harrison.
It smashed through several trees and narrowly missed an occupied house before hitting the ground and breaking into pieces, the authorities said.
Dr. Rockefeller was flying home after visiting his father, David, at the family's estate in Pocantico Hills, a hamlet in the town of Mount Pleasant. Mr. Rockefeller's 99th birthday was Thursday.
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