The Town of Colonie is planning a memorial for the Canadian pilot who died after crashing her plane in a wooded area last week.

Officials said there were signs of visible distress before the plane crashed. The family of the pilot identified her as Natalie Gillis.

The plane had been doing surveying activities in North Carolina and had stopped in Albany to refuel on the way back to Montreal. The plane crashed in a wooded area near Albany-Shaker Road and Maxwell Road.

Officials said it was miraculous that no one on the ground was hurt during the rush hour crash. The town wanted to honor Gillis and recognize that her life helped make that miracle.

“Of course, with divine providence as a co-pilot, together, we were so fortunate that the plane landed where it did,” said Town Supervisor Peter Crummey.

Rain washed over a makeshift memorial at the crash site near Maxwell Road and Albany Shaker Road, decorated with flowers and signs.

Crummey stood there with the brother of the 34-year-old pilot last week.  

“In talking to him, I asked him if it would be acceptable to him and his family if we had a small memorial marking the incident and also creating a kind of contemplative place with a bench and a plaque,” Crummey said.

Gillis had been flying the Piper Navajo plane for KASI Aviation. The National Transportation Safety Board was looking at what led to what an investigator called an “extreme loss of control” of the plane.

Crummey is looking to put the memorial down in the back corner of the town library, closest to the crash site.

He said he had the family’s blessing—sharing an emotional moment with Gillis’ brother.

“Do you know what he did? He gave me a huge bouquet of flowers thanking the Town of Colonie for the public safety service that was provided. If that doesn’t bring you to tears, that they’re thanking us for that at a moment of high grief for their family,” Crummey said.

The NTSB investigation could take up to two years.

The NTSB investigator said there were signs of visible distress before the plane crashed. The plane has been taken to a facility in Massachusetts, with a preliminary report expected in two to three weeks.