Pilot Paul Van Brunt used to take short fly-overs of the area as early as 5 a.m.
His neighbors said he would fly in a red-colored aircraft, which had canvas wings, a sling-like seat and three wheels, taking off from a runway on his Schroon River Road property.
The 56-year-old Warrensburg resident died Friday after his ultralight craft crashed when he was attempting to land, police said.
"I can't see why he would be that low that far from the runway unless there was some sort of problem," said Gary Herbert, a Monte Vista Drive resident.
The aircraft crashed in a field east of the intersection of Pucker Street and Schroon River Road next to a Virgin Mary statue. The crash was several hundred yards south of the runway.
Herbert said he saw one wing was bent upward and another damaged after the crash.
Van Brunt was initially assisted from the wreckage by a passing motorist and neighbors, Warren County Sheriff's Lt. Steve Stockdale said.
Van Brunt's property had previously been used as an informal Christmas tree farm, Pucker Street resident Mike Dipietro said.
A sheriff's officer at the scene of the crash told Herbert that Van Brunt was conscious and talking after the aircraft went down. Van Brunt later died at Glens Falls Hospital from injuries sustained in the crash.
Stockdale said it was unknown if the aircraft hit any tree tops before it crashed. The cause is still under investigation by the sheriff's office and Federal Aviation Administration.
An FAA spokeswoman said Saturday afternoon there was currently no information about the cause of the crash. An Albany inspector may finish the case in several days, she said.
Van Brunt was a licensed pilot with several years of experience, although the FAA does not require a pilot's license to fly unregistered ultralight aircraft.
Neighbors Keenan Havey and Mae Haynes said Van Burnt was a family man, who built an elaborate treehouse for his children and held fireworks shows even when it wasn't a holiday.
"He would always wave," Havey said.
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