The owner of a Northampton County flight school pleads not guilty after being charged in a small plane crash in Lehigh County three years ago that killed a student pilot. Nouman Saleem, who owns ProFlite in Palmer Township, allegedly allowed one of his flight instructors to keep teaching, even though he knew the instructor had failed a re-examination for a pilot's certificate. Prosecutors say between November 2020 and March 2021, Philip McPherson II flew with ProFlite as an instructor, but after multiple incidents with aircrafts veering off the runway and getting damaged, the FAA received a safety tip concerning the instructor questioning his competence and that a re-examination was necessary. McPherson flunked the exam and surrendered his license, with Saleem allegedly witnessing it. Prosecutors say Saleem and McPherson covered that up and continued giving flying lessons to make money until the September 2022 crash in Salisbury Township.
The future of up to a dozen Penn State University campuses is up in the air after Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi's announcement that Penn State is looking at its 12 smallest campuses to determine which can be closed. Penn State's Berks and Lehigh Valley campuses are among the system's seven biggest campuses that are safe, however students on the other dozen are concerned. "It's individualized instruction. You have smaller classes than what University Park offers. You get more time with your professors and more support from faculty and staff, that kind of thing," one student says. Bendapudi says the campuses could be closed due to declining enrollment and financial issues. Final decisions are expected prior to spring commencement. Those campuses that will be marked for closure will remain open through at least the 2026-2027 academic year. All students at universities marked for closure will have the opportunity to finish their degree at Penn State.
State Police are trying to sort out what happened overnight in Lehigh County. Details are scarce, but State Police say a shooting was reported on Welshtown Road in Washington Township just before 12:30 this morning. About ten minutes later, a car crash was reported about a half mile from the shooting scene. Police are not saying whether the two incidents are related.
Plans for a big project near Bethlehem's Historic Downtown took a step forward Tuesday. Bethlehem Property Group wants to build a five-story building with commercial space on the first floor and 70 apartments on the top four floors at the corner of North New and West Garrison streets. Tuesday, The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Comprehensive Planning Committee forwarded the plan to the entire commission. The rezoning of the property has already been approved by the Bethlehem Planning Commission and sent to City Council.
According to AAA East Central, the average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania dropped by two cents over the past seven days to $3.34 as of Tuesday. That price is an 18 cent drop from last February 25. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price was $3.24 as of Tuesday, down one cent from the previous week and 16 cents less than one year earlier.
Harrison Morton Middle School students will remain on a virtual learning schedule until further notice thanks to a pipe that burst last Wednesday. The school says while progress is being made on cleaning up after the flooding, virtual learning will continue until parents are notified otherwise.
Pennsylvania authorities say the man who held staff at a hospital at gunpoint before killing a police officer was upset over the death of a family member. Police in York County say 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel Ortiz was holding hostages in the UPMC Memorial Hospital ICU Saturday and threatening to kill one in the hallway when several officers opened fire. Officer Andrew Duarte and the gunman were killed in the shootout, and five others were wounded. Ortiz apparently targeted the ICU where his family member was treated and died within the last week, something officials said Ortiz had difficultly accepting.
The gunman in the UMPC Memorial Hospital shooting was previously charged with violating a protective order. Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz was arrested in October 2016 for threatening and assaulting his girlfriend. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three-to-six months in jail. Authorities believe Archangel-Ortiz targeted the hospital because a loved one had recently died there.
Two police officers injured in the shooting at UMPC Memorial Hospital last weekend are back home. The Springettsbury Township Police Department announced yesterday that both officers have been released from the hospital and are expected to make a full recovery. Three officers and four employees were shot at the hospital on Saturday. 30-year-old Officer Andrew Duarte was killed.