Staff Report / September 3, 2026
ITHACA – David Kornreich, a Cornell-trained astronomer, university instructor, and avid pilot, died Sunday, August 30, when his amphibious plane crashed in the Town of Enfield. He was 52.
Kornreich was piloting his LA-4-200 Lake Buccaneer when the aircraft developed an apparent mechanical issue roughly an hour after departing Ithaca Tompkins International Airport, according to county officials. A passenger on board also perished in the crash.
A dedicated educator and researcher, Kornreich taught physics and astronomy at Cornell University, Ithaca College, and SUNY Cortland. He earned his doctorate from Cornell in 2001, focusing his research on the shape and motion of spiral galaxies. During his time at Cornell, he co-founded the university’s popular “Ask an Astronomer” blog and was awarded the Eleanor Norton York Prize in Astronomy for outstanding achievement and citizenship. Beyond academia, Kornreich was active in the community as a flight instructor, a member of the Finger Lakes Curling Club, and a local roller derby referee.
Key details regarding Kornreich’s career and legacy include:
- Academic Background: Earned an undergraduate degree in astronomy with honors from Caltech in 1995 before completing his Ph.D. at Cornell in 2001.
- Professorship & Research: Served as an assistant professor of physics and astrophysics at Humboldt State University in California, earning tenure in 2006. He co-authored research connected to the ALFALFA galaxy survey and conducted work at the Arecibo Observatory, Palomar Observatory, and the Very Large Array.
- Local Instruction: Taught physics and astronomy across Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences, Ithaca College, and SUNY Cortland after returning to the Ithaca area in 2011.
- Survivors: Kornreich is survived by his wife, Alexandra Clinton, a 1996 Cornell graduate.
