An aviation technology innovator with years of flight experience died yesterday after his single-engine plane crashed near Poughkeepsie.

Amir Tirosh, 52, an Israeli Air Force vet, reported engine failure after takeoff from Orange County Airport on his way to Danbury, Conn., with an unidentified male passenger, authorities said.

The plane was found crashed in a wooded area about four miles south of the airport. The passenger was airlifted to a nearby hospital.