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Emergency Plane Landing At Upstate Air Strip

By Newsradio 88 Staff

Griffiss Air Force Base has been closed for nearly two years, but it served as an emergency landing strip for a a two-engine plane bound from Canada to Manchester, N.H. as it was forced to land there when its pilot blacked out briefly, officials said.

The 42-year-old pilot, Eugene Kocsis, and his five passengers departed Friday morning from Toronto Island Airport in a Cessna 414, an executive-type aircraft.

While in the air, Kocsis experienced an attack that caused him to black out, said a spokesman for the National Guard.

He responded by changing the flight plan to Albany, then to Utica then Griffiss, the FAA office in New York City told the Associated Press.

All aboard are in good condition.