Richard Rockefeller Killed In Westchester Plane Crash

Authorities have confirmed that the pilot killed in yesterday's small plane crash in Westchester was Richard Rockefeller, son of billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller and great-grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller was 65.

Rockefeller, who lived in Maine, had flown into New York to celebrate his father's 99th birthday. He was set to return home on Friday, but his small plane crashed a few minutes after taking off from Westchester County Airport, near the SUNY Purchase campus. He was the only passenger on the plane.

"It's a terrible tragedy," Fraser Seitel, a spokesperson for the family, told the Journal News. "The family is in shock. Richard was a wonderful and cherished member of the family. He was an experienced pilot. He was a medical doctor, and it's horribly sad."

Rockefeller was a family physician in Falmouth, Maine; he was also a former chairman of the United States Advisory Board of Doctors Without Borders, and once served as the president of the Rockefeller Family Fund. He was married with two children and two step-children.