2 injured in small-plane crash in Hamptons

A man who saw a small plane crash after taking off from East Hampton Airport in New York saved the plane's pilot and passenger, a witness said. The single-engine Mooney experienced engine trouble almost immediately after taking off Sunday for Taunton, Mass., and crashed in some nearby woods, the New York Post reported Monday. Witness John Kirrane said Craig Schum, 33, of New York, who was working at a bakery in East Hampton for the summer, left his vehicle and rushed to the crash site. Schum said he saw pilot Steven Bochter, who was trying to fly to his Massachusetts home, walking around dazed and a woman still inside the plane. Schum said he pulled the woman to safety before the aircraft burst into flames. "This guy is an absolute hero," Kirrane told the Post. "I went up to him after it all happened, with him covered in blood, and told him that it's not every day that I meet someone who is willing to do something like he did. He did something special. It was unbelievable." Bochter was identified by his son, who said the passenger was a friend of his dad's. "They're going to be OK,'' the son said, adding they both sustained minor injuries.