An operator of a small plane that crashed and landed on a narrow median of Interstate 684 last month had reported losing engine power before going down, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says in a preliminary report released this week.

One person died and a pilot was injured in the Dec. 12 accident, which closed the road in both directions at the New York-Connecticut border for about seven hours, according to Connecticut State Police, who were assisted at the scene by the New York State Police, Westchester County Police and surrounding area fire departments.

Headed from Linden, N.J. to Albany, the flight crew diverted course to Westchester County Airport due to an engine problem, but came down at around 6:46 p.m. on I-684 near Greenwich, Conn., according to the NTSB.

A pilot advised they were “losing our engine” shortly after takeoff, the NTSB said. After momentarily regaining strength, a pilot again reported losing the engine, the NTSB said.

It said a motorist passing by pulled one person from the wreckage before police arrived.

The NTSB report states initial examinations of flight controls and the plane’s engine did not reveal catastrophic mechanical failure, and the wreckage has been retained for further examinations.

Connecticut State Police said last month the passenger, Jacob Yankele Friedman, 33, of Monsey, died at the scene, and the pilot, Kalmen Goldberger, 27, of Linden, N.J., survived and received treatment.

The NTSB report does not identify the two, only as a "commercial pilot" who was fatally injured, and a "private pilot."

The NTSB last month was investigating more than two dozen plane crashes across the state this year. At least seven involving small airplanes were fatal.

An NTSB preliminary report also released this week says engine failure contributed to a plane crashed that killed a pilot on Dec. 19 in East Aurora.

Another report on a separate plane crash that killed a man who was flying upstate with three dogs he had rescued found the plane had made an unexplained descent. 

On Dec. 20, a small twin-engine plane carrying three people made an emergency landing on the New York State Thruway near the Exit 23 northbound off-ramp in Albany. No one was injured.

The crashes have attracted the attention of a state lawmaker looking to reduce such incidents.