Airbubba
8th Nov 2005, 15:26
Pilot injured after cargo plane crashes into N.H. Wal-Mart
No injuries on ground
ASSOCIATED PRESS
7:14 a.m. November 8, 2005
MANCHESTER, N.H. – A small cargo plane with only the pilot on board crashed into a Wal-Mart Tuesday. The pilot was hurt but able to walk away from the crash, and there were no reports of injuries on the ground.
"I just saw a huge ball of smoke go up," said Maria Kosmakata, who was driving to her job at a nearby car dealership.
The twin-engine Embraer had just taken off from Manchester Airport, about 1 mile from the store, when it hit the Wal-Mart garden center at 7:20 a.m., said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Murray.
The pilot, Paul Seyler-Schmidt, 32, of Bangor, Maine, was helped away from the wreckage by workers at the car dealership and was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately available.
"Reports are that he's conscious, that he knows what's going on, that he's asked for his wife," said Robin Outwater of AirNow, the Bennington, Vt.-based company that operates the plane. "He seems to be doing just fine."
Rick Osgood, who works at the car dealership and was at the crash, said Seyler-Schmidt walked away from the wreckage but appeared hurt, with blood on his head and an injured leg.
The plane, carrying cargo for United Parcel Service, was bound for Bangor, officials said.
Jim Hill, who lives near the airport, said it seemed like the plane tried re-approach airport after taking off when it struck the Wal-Mart store.
The store was evacuated after the crash, and there were no known injuries on the ground.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20051108-0714-smallplanecrash.html
AirNow's Bandit page:
http://www.airnow.com/AirNowMain/banditprofile.htm
Shore Guy
9th Nov 2005, 12:25
Cargo plane crashes in Manchester
By PAT GROSSMITH, SCOTT BROOKS AND MARK HAYWARD
Union Leader Staff
6 hours, 17 minutes ago
Manchester - A commuter-sized airplane crashed just feet from a Wal-Mart
store yesterday morning, jolting the heart of the city's retail center with
an impact and subsequent explosions that could have proved disastrous.
A few hours later or a few yards in either direction, and the plane would
have struck a bustling Mall of New Hampshire, Barnes & Noble bookstore or
the Highland-Goffe's Falls School, which was closed yesterday for election
day.
The AirNow pilot, Paul Seyler-Schmidt, 32, a resident of Bangor, Maine,
walked away from the crash with what witnesses said appeared to be a broken
leg.
Smoke rises along Goffe's Falls Road shortly after the crash. (EDWARD
DRESSER)
"You could tell it was right on top of us," said Lee Beauchamp, service
adviser at the nearby Honda dealership. "Then, all of a sudden, we heard
this thump. It sounded like it hit the top of this building."
Seyler-Schmidt was listed in fair condition last night at Elliot Hospital,
but the hospital would not release specifics about his injuries.
Officials said the plane took off in a northeastly direction from Manchester
Airport, and Seyler-Schmidt almost immediately reported engine trouble.
He turned northwest and was lined up to land on the adjoining airport runway
in a southerly direction. But the plane, which was carrying freight, crashed
about a quarter to a half-mile short of the runway, said Manchester Airport
Director Kevin Dillon.
It clipped the Wal-Mart greenhouse and crashed into storage containers, said
Rick Osgood of Loudon, a dispatcher and service writer for the nearby Saturn
dealership. An employee who normally works in the greenhouse had the day
off, said Police Chief John Jaskolka.
A large part of the fuselage crashed into a row of pine trees serving as a
buffer along Goffe's Falls Road.
Packages were strewn across the storage lot, among the smoking and charred
remains of the plane. Most were UPS packages from the plane, but other
packages came from the damaged Wal-Mart storage containers, some Christmas
gifts on layaway, said store Manager Sean Petersen.
A large plume of smoke was visible for miles on the clear morning.
Wal-Mart was evacuated, and Interstate 293 and other local roads were
snarled with traffic after the crash. Rubbernecking apparently caused a
four-car crash on I-293, police said. No one was injured.
Dillon said the crash did not affect airport operations. Flights continued
to depart and arrive yesterday along runway 17-35, which takes flights over
the heavily developed retail areas of South Willow Street.
"Accidents like this are rare. An aircraft accident can happen anywhere,"
Dillon said.
Aircraft's fuselage came to rest along Goffe's Falls Road. (DICK MORIN)
National Transportation Safety Board officials were expected to arrive in
Manchester last night and begin an investigation this morning, Dillon said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and state aeronautics officials were on
scene yesterday.
The NTSB requested the plane remain in place overnight until investigators
arrived, Dillon said. The plane is expected to be moved today.
Yesterday's accident occurred just after Wal-Mart and surrounding businesses
opened.
Osgood said he and two fellow Saturn workers noticed the plane while in the
lot.
"We saw him coming down and we knew he wasn't going to make it, " Osgood
said. He said he saw the plane circle to return to the airport. The engine
was cutting in and out.
The three men started running in the direction of the plane as it began to
descend.
"All we saw was a large ball of fire and carnage. About a minute or two
later we saw the pilot walking or limping away," Osgood said
Seyler-Schmidt had a broken leg and a serious head injury, he said.
Car reconditioner Pedro Garcia hoisted the pilot onto his shoulder and
carried him across the street. Soon afterward, he said, there was another
explosion.
Flames from the crash burn in a storage area at Wal-Mart. (SCOTT GUERETTE)
The pilot was conscious throughout.
"We said, 'What happened?,'" Garcia recalled. "He said, 'I lost an engine.'"
In a statement released from the hospital, Seyler-Schmidt said: "I am
extremely grateful to all the people who helped me at the scene of the plane
crash this morning, including the Good Samaritans who helped me immediately
after the crash and the emergency personnel who treated me."
Saturn service manager John O'Brien was also taken to the hospital after
suffering breathing difficulties because of the smoke.
A line of fire swept toward the Honda parking lot, apparently following the
path of a fuel spill, according to Scott Guerette, Honda's service manager.
Employees emptied six extinguishers, preventing the flames from spreading.
According to a 2002 traffic count, the area of South Willow Street close to
Wal-Mart sees 28,000 cars on an average day. As shoppers know, flight paths
bring aircraft close to stores along the strip.
Dillon said the city tries to discourage growth along the ends of runways,
and the airport purchases property within a runway protection zone when it
comes on the market.
He said the Manchester Airport was once far from any development.
"Normally, the airport is there first, and development encroaches on the
airport," said FAA spokesman Arlene Salac. "That's not an issue the FAA has
any control over."
Robin Outwater, vice president of operations for aircraft owner Business Air
Inc. of Bennington, Vt., said Seyler-Schmidt has been flying for more than
10 years. Outwater said he pilots a flight from Bangor International Airport
to Manchester Airport, delivering daily express packages for UPS.
The plane that crashed was a twin engine cargo Embraer 110, a Brazilian
aircraft.
In January, the pilot of an AirNow plane was killed when his aircraft
crashed in heavy fog at Dillant Hopkins Airport outside Keene.
Wal-Mart spokesman Sharon Weber said the Manchester store had been open for
about 20 minutes when it was evacuated after the crash.
Although the store remained closed for the rest of yesterday, Wal-Mart
expected to reopen at 7 a.m. today
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 7801Q Make/Model: E110 Description: EMB-110/111 Bandeirante (C-95, EC-95, P-
Date: 11/08/2005 Time: 1226
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Serious Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: MANCHESTER State: NH Country: US
DESCRIPTION
N7801Q, BUSINESS AIRFREIGHT RLR3352, AN EMBRAER EMB-110P1 ACFT, CRASHED
SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF INTO A STORE, EXPLODED ON IMPACT, THE ONE PERSON ON
BOARD SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, MANCHESTER, NH
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 1 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: VFR
OTHER DATA
Departed: MANCHESTER, NH Dep Date: Dep. Time:
Destination: BANGOR, ME Flt Plan: Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: PORTLAND, ME (NE05) Entry date: 11/08/2005
barit1
29th Nov 2005, 21:33
NTSB prelim (http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20051124X01887&key=1)
zerozero
1st Dec 2005, 04:20
From the Prelim report:
<<The left engine propeller hub was still attached to its engine, and the propeller blades appeared to be angled about 90 degrees from the direction of rotation...
The right engine propeller hub was detached from the engine, and one propeller blade was separated about 8 inches from the tip, while the other blades exhibited curling, missing blade material and leading edge damage. The blades also appeared to be angled 90 degrees from the direction of rotation.>>
He's very lucky.