By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
I&M Staff Writer

Nantucket’s family of aviators lost one of its own this week. William F. “Billy” Holdgate, 50, who was born and raised on the island, died Sunday, Oct. 23, when the twin engine Cessna 411 he was flying crashed on a residential street in East Hampton, Long Island.

Holdgate, the owner of Holdgate and Colletti Construction, had purchased the plane in Georgia and was flying it home to Nantucket when, for reasons that are still not clear, it fell from the sky, landed upside down and killed the man who was remembered by friends and colleagues as someone who enjoyed life to the fullest.

Holdgate, who in addition to flying, enjoyed golf, iceboating and fishing on his boat Therapy, was known around the island as an adventurer who was always looking for the next challenge.

“He loved to do everything but work,” said his younger brother Gilbert Holdgate with a tear in his eye, trying to smile as he remembered the good times he shared with his sibling. “He was just out 60 miles to sea tuna fishing last week by himself. That’s just who he was. He just did it. But he also would never have taken an unnecessary risk either.”

Holdgate came from a family of flyers. His father, Donald, flew for the government in the Civil Air Patrol and was also an air traffic controller for 20 years and his brother Chris Holdgate is also a pilot.
 

The scene of the plane crash in East Hampton, N.Y. that killed Nantucketer William Holdgate Sunday afternoon. He was the pilot and only person on board.

Holdgate had been licensed to fly single-engine planes since 1991, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. Family members said he recently received his multi-engine license, but was not yet authorized to carry passengers with him, which is why he was making the flight from Georgia to Nantucket by himself. FAA records show no multi-engine certifications, but officials said they might not yet have been processed.

Holdgate owned an ultralight pontoon plane on the island that he often flew near the beaches as well as out to sea where he would be a spotter for swordfishermen.

“He loved to fish and he loved boats,” said long-time friend John “J.D.” Dugan. “He was one of the best friends anyone could ask for. He was always out fishing or skiing. He could fix anything. You could call him up and ask him about a problem and he’d tell you exactly what to do. He was just a talented person. You’ll never find another friend like that.”

Holdgate and his partner Robert Colletti started their construction company in the sand pits off Milestone Road in the 1970s. Holdgate loved working with machines, and had recently purchase Colletti’s half of the business. It is unclear what the future holds for the company, but Colletti did say that any remaining contracts would be honored before any decisions are made.

A witness on the ground in East Hampton, David Rattray, editor of the East Hampton Star, said he was in his office Sunday when he heard a plane that sounded like it was flying unusually low to the ground.

“The plane circled at least once, maybe twice, in a counter-clockwise direction at a fairly steep angle,” said Rattray, who heard the plane overhead just before 2 p.m. “It didn’t appear he had any control.”

The scene of the plane crash in East Hampton, N.Y. that killed Nantucketer William Holdgate Sunday afternoon.

Luke Schiada, a senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said the crash is still under investigation and its cause remains unknown.

Schiada did say there was a three- to four-inch hole in one of the engines’ crank cases and investigators were taking a closer look at that as being a contributing factor in the crash.

John Frank, director of the national Cessna Pilots Association, said that for a pilot who does not have significant experience with a twin-engine plane, the loss of one of those engines would be a difficult situation to recover from and a hole of that size in the crank case could have stopped the engine. He said he could not speak on the specifics of Holdgate’s crash, but likened flying a plane with only one of two engines to having to paddle a canoe with one oar on one side of the boat.

“It’s very difficult to fly with one engine,” said Frank. “And the 411 doesn’t have the most stellar history.”