PHILADELPHIA, PA — A New Jersey man was sentenced Thursday to 78 months in federal prison for involuntary manslaughter and related offenses stemming from a 2022 plane crash in Lehigh County that killed a student pilot.
Philip McPherson II, 37, of Riverside, New Jersey, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay a $5,000 fine, a $4,300 special assessment, and $19,530 in restitution. U.S. District Judge John M. Gallagher additionally barred McPherson from working in the aviation industry.
McPherson pleaded guilty in October to involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of an administrative proceeding, and 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate.
According to court filings, McPherson was piloting a Piper PA-28-140 aircraft that departed from Queen City Airport in Allentown on Sept. 28, 2022, with a student pilot identified as K.K. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft crashed, killing the student.
Prosecutors alleged McPherson acted with gross negligence because he knew he was not qualified to operate the aircraft safely as pilot-in-command.
Court records state that McPherson had been involved in two previous crashes, nearly experienced a third, failed a Federal Aviation Administration reexamination in September 2021, voluntarily surrendered his pilot certificate the following month, and allowed his temporary airman certificate to expire in November 2021.
Despite lacking a valid FAA pilot certificate, McPherson admitted operating aircraft with passengers on multiple occasions between October 2021 and September 2022, according to prosecutors.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Salisbury Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Schopf and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Miller prosecuted the case.
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