Plane catches fire after landing at Linden, NJ Airport

LINDEN — A single-engine plane caught fire moments after landing at Linden Airport Sunday afternoon leaving the pilot with burns.

Fire engulfed the small Sonex fixed-wing plane while it was taxiing on a runway to park around 3:25 p.m, according to the FAA. Linden police said the pilot got out of the plane before first responders arrived and suffered serious burns on his arms and lower extremities.

He was taken to The Burn Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.

The pilot was identified on the FAA website as Shmuel Judkovitz of Brooklyn. According to his Linkedin account, he is the owner of SJ Computers, Inc. and Information Technology and Services.

The plane was built in 2003.

Judkovitz flew the plane on a 77-mile flight to Cross Keys Airport in Monroe Township (Gloucester) on Sunday morning, according to FlightAware.com. He left Cross Keys at 2:25 p.m. for the return flight and arrived at Linden at 3:12 p.m.

Plane after catching fire at Linden Airport 7/10/22 (John Francis Roman)

Dan Zarrow contributed to this report

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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