Prodrive555
Well-Known Member
I don't remember his last name, but does anyone know if it was Peter?
Yes, it was.
http://www.uticaod.com/features/x1792921725/Plane-makes-emergency-landing-outside-near-Delta-Lake
ROME —
Local officials and employers of the cargo pilot who carried out a successful emergency landing near Delta Lake on Thursday morning gave him credit for creating “a good outcome to what could have been a really bad day.”
Capt. Peter May of Brewerton was headed from Syracuse to Plattsburgh in a Cessna C308B Caravan turbo-prop plane when his engine shut down suddenly in mid-air, said Allen Pattee, chief financial officer Wiggins Airways.
The New Hampshire-based company contracts with several cargo carriers for flights throughout the Northeast, officials said. May’s plane was carrying 300 pounds of cargo for FedEx when it lost altitude and was forced to land in a hay field at about 8 a.m.
“We’re very lucky to have Peter,” said company Senior Vice President Andy Day. “When things like this happen, you hope to have people like Captain May at the controls. He did a very good job and did exactly what we train to do in the circumstance.”
Officials said May has more than 8,000 flight hours in this type of craft and has flown for Wiggins Airways since 1994.
The loss of power happened about 15 miles away from Griffiss Airport while the plane was at an altitude of about 7,500 feet, according to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office. The planes typically cruise at about 10,000 feet, Pattee said.
Oneida County Department of Aviation Commissioner W. Vernon Gray also credited May for his quick reactions.
“He came out of the clouds and was just above the tree line so he dropped the flaps and that helped get him over the trees and land safely,” Gray said. “He thought he was going to crash into the houses…. We got very, very lucky today.”
While initial reports were that the pilot heard an explosion, Pattee said there was no explosion in the air.
Day added that the aircraft was manufactured in 2003 and had no history of problems. The date that it last received maintenance was not immediately available, however.
Gray said May initially attempted to turn the plane around to land at Griffiss but lost power and altitude so quickly, he had to make the emergency landing with the wheels down in the field that is adjacent to the Lake Delta Fire Department, about two and half miles from the airport.
Nearby residents said they did not hear the plane fly over or land.
When emergency crews arrived on scene, smoke was coming from the engine, Gray said. No injuries to the pilot, who was the only one onboard, or damage to the plane from the landing were reported.
“The whole incident probably lasted about three minutes,” he added.
Day said his company runs one flight each way between Syracuse and Plattsburgh daily.
FAA officials were headed to the scene to investigate the incident Wednesday, but Day said it would be some time before the company knows the full nature of the mechanical failure, or whether any external factors contributed to it. The plane is headed to Griffiss where FAA officials will continue their investigation.
Gray said the plane may remain in the field for a few days, however. The craft will likely have to be towed out and before that is done, the wings will be taken off and the fuel drained.
The planes cargo was released around noon Wednesday and had been delivered to Plattsburgh via another aircraft by late afternoon, Day said