SPENCERPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say an 88-year-old World War II veteran who loved to fly was killed today when his single-engine plane crashed at the upstate New York airfield that bore his name.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Norman Hasman, a tail gunner who was shot down twice in combat and was a prisoner of war in Germany, was pronounced dead at the scene after his plane’s left wheel caught a patch of tall grass, causing the Cessna 140 to veer to the left and flip on its back.

The sheriff’s office says Hasman had been flying touch-and-go exercises throughout the morning. He crashed as he descended from the north for either a touch-and-go or a landing at Hasman Field just northwest of the Greater Rochester International Airport.

He says gusty winds may have contributed to the crash, but authorities have yet to officially determine the cause.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

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143-v-31-(Julie Walker, AP correspondent)–An 88-year-old World War Two veteran who loved to fly is dead, after his single-engine plane crashed in the upstate New York airfield that bears his name. AP correspondent Julie Walker reports. Updated: 07/05/2014-05:28:55 PM ET (5 Jul 2014)

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