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Indian-American woman sues flight school over fatal Long Island crash
Reeva Gupta, 33, is suing 2 BA Pilot NYC and its parent company, Danny Waizman Aviation, for negligence and wrongful death.
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Reeva Gupta and her mother / Photo: GoFundMe
A survivor of a fatal 2023 Long Island plane crash is suing a local flight school, alleging that the tragedy—which claimed the lives of her mother and a young pilot—was entirely preventable.
As reported by the New York Post, the lawsuit, filed in Queens Supreme Court on Feb. 28, accuses the school of ignoring multiple warnings about the aircraft’s safety before it burst into flames mid-flight.
Reeva Gupta, 33, who suffered severe burns and permanent disabilities from the crash, is suing 2 BA Pilot NYC and its parent company, Danny Waizman Aviation, for negligence and wrongful death. The lawsuit cites a federal crash report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which determined that an electrical short likely caused an in-flight fire.
The Piper PA-28 aircraft crashed on March. 5, 2023, during its final approach to Republic Airport in Farmingdale. Gupta, who had purchased a Groupon for an introductory flight lesson alongside her mother, Roma Gupta, recalls seeing smoke emerge from beneath her mother’s seat moments before the fire engulfed the cabin.
Also Read: Two Indian-origin people among victims of DC plane crash
Investigators later discovered that the same aircraft had experienced smoke in the cockpit twice in the months leading up to the crash, yet the flight school failed to perform necessary maintenance, the lawsuit claims. The NTSB’s final report, released in October 2024, found that an electrical short compromised an oil pressure line, causing a leak that ignited mid-flight.
Gupta’s lawsuit alleges that operator Danny Waizman and his flight school prioritized profit over safety.
“My mother’s life was lost, and the pilot’s life was lost, and my life is forever changed because somebody wanted to make money,” Gupta told the New York Post.
A former neurosurgery physician assistant, Gupta suffered burns on over half her body and underwent multiple amputations. She spent six weeks in a medically induced coma and endured months of recovery in a burn unit.
The young pilot, 23-year-old Fayzul Chowdhury, initially survived the crash but later succumbed to his injuries.
Now, Gupta is seeking justice—not just for her mother, but to ensure no other family endures a similar tragedy.
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