Second person on plane dies from injuries sustained in Clifton Park crash

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

The Aug. 15 plane crash in Clifton Park that took the life of the head of a local company has now claimed a second victim.

James Quinn, 68, of Westerlo, the vice chairman of United Group of Companies, has died, the company announced today.

Quinn’s death comes exactly two weeks after the small plane he was flying crashed into the front yard of a Clifton Park home.

“For two weeks, Jim fought valiantly to stay with us — an effort that perfectly summarizes his character,” said UGOC Development Executive Jeffrey Buell in a release issued this afternoon.

Quinn was in critical condition immediately following the crash and was receiving treatment at Albany Medical Center Hospital. A certified airline transport pilot, Quinn was on board a single-engine 1981 Beechcraft A36TC the day of the crash. He was headed to Plattsburgh with friend and colleague Walter Uccelini.

Uccelini died when the plane crashed into trees in the front of 53 Van Vranken Road. He was chairman of UGOC, the developer behind the new Schenectady County Community College dormitory project. Both were licensed pilots, and investigators have been unable to determine which was actually in control of the plane when it went down.

“[Quinn] was a longtime confidant of Walter, a trusted source of knowledge, and a man unafraid of asking the toughest of questions,” said Buell in today’s statement. “Perhaps it is most fitting that Jim will be remembered over the long term as a man that put aside his own safety to ensure that no one was injured two weeks ago during the plane crash. He was an honorable man to the end, a man who will truly be missed. Please keep his entire family in your thoughts during this difficult time.”