P180 Belly Landing at HPN this Morning - Was it Avantair?

[TailDraggerTed]

P180 Belly Landing at HPN this Morning

Was it Avantair?

What's the story?

AUGUST 3, 2007

Delays and overcrowding at Westchester County Airport this afternoon

By SARAH JOHNSTON AND NICOLE NEROULIAS
THE JOURNAL NEWS

WHITE PLAINS - Delays and overcrowding continue this afternoon at the Westchester County Airport, after a small private plane had trouble landing this morning and blocked the main runway for several hours.


The Piaggio P180 plane landed safely at 8:30 a.m. after having a problem with its landing gear.
But the main airport runway, used by commercial flights, was closed until 11:30 a.m. - when the plane was towed off the runway -causing flights to be delayed and overcrowding to develop at the terminal, airport officials said.

"It has been backed up," county spokeswoman Donna Greene said. "Some airlines are on time and some are not."

To alleviate the overcrowding, only passengers whose flights are about to depart are being let into the lounge area.

Friday afternoons are often busy with business and vacation travel, and this morning's incident certainly did not help, one airport official said.

Travelers are advised to check with the airport and their airlines for information about flight delays.
The plane's equipment problem was reported shortly after 8 a.m. Firefighters were standing by as the plane landed, said John Starace, airport operations manager.

"There's an investigation," said Starace. "It landed with no gears, it just sort of slid down the runway." The two people on board the twin-engine plane were not injured. The plane incurred minor damages.

 

[Flywrite]

Flightaware shows no arrivals between about 0840 and 1035. The last P180 inbound prior to that "arrived" at 0740, but from the track it looks like it flew around HPN for some time. It's not too hard to speculate they may have been troubleshooting the gear. That P180 WAS a VNR flight number, so....?

 

[Bruno06]

Well, well, is this another Avantair accident? I heard it was one of their Piaggios. Nobody's talking, could this possibly be another of Avantair's maintenance issue cover-ups????
Glad to hear the pilots were unharmed. Sadly it's probably a matter of time until a serious accident occurs with that company. Management have most likely already linched the pilots and hidden the aircraft. It'll be back on line once everyone's stopped talking, maybe even with a band-aid or two.
Anyone heard any more?

 

[greygoose]

If it is that P180 they sure must have fixed it really fast since it is on another trip already.

 

[Bruno06]

This aircraft is flying today????? Nothing surprises me with Avantair!

 

[NJA bound]

103 hasn't flown since friday morning when it landed sans rollers, if you inlarge the pic you can see the nose gear is partially extended, and the track log shows they did a go-around at 0737 and came back for the belly landing about 0820

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070804/NEWS02/708040324

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/VNR103

 

[Ultra Grump]

Firefighters were standing by as the plane landed, said John Starace, airport operations manager.
"There's an investigation," he said. "It landed with no gears. It just sort of slid down the runway."



This guy's the airport operations manager?

 

[myrealnameis]

Well, well, is this another Avantair accident? I heard it was one of their Piaggios. Nobody's talking, could this possibly be another of Avantair's maintenance issue cover-ups????
Glad to hear the pilots were unharmed. Sadly it's probably a matter of time until a serious accident occurs with that company. Management have most likely already linched the pilots and hidden the aircraft. It'll be back on line once everyone's stopped talking, maybe even with a band-aid or two.
Anyone heard any more?

Well, well, no doubt how you feel about Avantair. Too bad you don't know what the hell your talking about. Yes a mechanical problem and the crew did a great job getting it on the ground with minimal damage. I can tell you the crew is not going to be "linched" as you said, by the way spelled lynched. Both crewmembers are excellent pilots. You claim coverup. Nobody has said anything because it happened yesterday. By the way the company has put out an email to all crewmembers informing them of the situation. What, you didn't get yours? Go crawl back under your rock.

 

[CherryBomb]

Looks to me like the crew had the props feathered in order to save the engines. Good job guys!!!

 

[Crobar]

Looks to me like the crew had the props feathered in order to save the engines.

????

 

[Bruno06]

Well, well, no doubt how you feel about Avantair. Too bad you don't know what the hell your talking about. Yes a mechanical problem and the crew did a great job getting it on the ground with minimal damage. I can tell you the crew is not going to be "linched" as you said, by the way spelled lynched. Both crewmembers are excellent pilots. You claim coverup. Nobody has said anything because it happened yesterday. By the way the company has put out an email to all crewmembers informing them of the situation. What, you didn't get yours? Go crawl back under your rock.

Space Shuttle Pilot,
Are you referring to the email describing "issues" with the landing gear? You are right, management really do keep their pilots well informed!
So since you are in a position of great knowledge, not to mention an expert speller, maybe you can explain why Avantair have had so many "issues" over the past year. I could count the amount of blown tires, but I just don't have the time. Anyway, I'd rather be under my rock.
As for the "crawl under your rock" comment.....are you retarded?
Hey, say hi to B-19 when you pass his office on Monday!

 

[TailDraggerTed]

Was Avantair involved in other landing problems or accidents this year? This is the only one I heard of.

 

[CherryBomb]

????

It is my understanding that anytime there is a prop strike while the engine is producing power, the engine has to undergo a mandatory overhaul.

Hence the reason for my comment.

 

[dime line]

It is my understanding that anytime there is a prop strike while the engine is producing power, the engine has to undergo a mandatory overhaul.

Hence the reason for my comment.

They shut the motors off just before landing

 

[Wiggums]

Good job guys!!!

A good job would be heading to a different airport and not screwing up ops at HPN for hours.

 

[av8orboy]

A good job would be heading to a different airport and not screwing up ops at HPN for hours.

I second that.

 

[dime line]

I second that.

And where should they have gone? Arm chair quarterback

 

[sperfly]

And where should they have gone? Arm chair quarterback

To a less busy airport with fire and rescue equipment as the arm chair quarterback said.

 

[dime line]

To a less busy airport with fire and rescue equipment as the arm chair quarterback said.

And where would that be?

 

[sperfly]

Are you asking me to pull out a sectional and find one because I can do that but I am not going to at this time. I'm pretty sure that they could have asked for vectors to one as well. All the poster was saying was that why go in and shut down an airport as busy as HPN and make everyone else circle or divert when they could very eaisly went some where else not quit as busy.

 

[dime line]

Are you asking me to pull out a sectional and find one because I can do that but I am not going to at this time. I'm pretty sure that they could have asked for vectors to one as well. All the poster was saying was that why go in and shut down an airport as busy as HPN and make everyone else circle or divert when they could very eaisly went some where else not quit as busy.

My point exactly, (Do you think they had enough to do without thinking about a sectional) and being that you were not there (I chated with the Captain yesterday) how much gas did they have to go to said airport? And how do you know said airport was not "quite as busy" at the time of landing?
The point is YOU or anyone else were not there, so what you had to divert (you didn't have an emergency), so what some people were delayed (they didn't have an emergency),
I would do the same thing.

 

[imacdog]

Are you asking me to pull out a sectional and find one because I can do that but I am not going to at this time. I'm pretty sure that they could have asked for vectors to one as well. All the poster was saying was that why go in and shut down an airport as busy as HPN and make everyone else circle or divert when they could very eaisly went some where else not quit as busy.

When you have a real emergency your only priority as a pilot is ensuring your arrival has the safest possible outcome, period. Those who would compromise their passengers' safety in any way just so other airplanes aren't inconvenienced aren't true professionals.

 

[Going2Golf]

And where would that be?

Stweart-Newburgh KSWF

2 runways
11,818 feet and 6006 feet long, both 150 feet wide.

Air Guard flies C-130s and C-5s out of it.


33 Miles from HPN, just up the Hudson on the western side of the river.

If I had to put one down gear up Id want the longest runway I could find.

All told good job to the 2 guys in the hot seat for a safe outcome to it.

 

[steve3137]

Those who love to second guess

You Know I would just like to say who ever is second guessing those pilots have no clue what there talking about. Those pilots did a great job and deserve nothing but the best treatment. Who cares if planes had to go some where else or were late, Aren't the airlines late every flight anyways, what's an extra 2 hours. It's amazing how most of you guys love to monday morning quaterback everbody but yet, you have know Idea whats its like to be in that situation youself. All I'm saying is, until you been put in that situation, It's proably a good Idea to keep it shut.

 

[av8orboy]

And where should they have gone? Arm chair quarterback

SWF, FOK... not to mention it's not the best place to advertise a "crash landing."

 

[old*art]

Weren't there some airline pilots fried a few years back for bypassing "nearest suitable airports" with an emergency/maintenance related issue ? My hard drive is full or I would be able to remember the pacifics (for the spell checkers !) I agree - put it on the ground and let the other folks sort it out.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Weren't there some airline pilots fried a few years back for bypassing "nearest suitable airports" with an emergency/maintenance related issue ? My hard drive is full or I would be able to remember the pacifics (for the spell checkers !) I agree - put it on the ground and let the other folks sort it out.

Are you thinking of the British Airways 747 that took off out of LAX, lost an engine and continued on to LHR?

 

[NotFurloughed]

Nice

Gotta hand it to them - they were right on centerline...

 

[myrealnameis]

Space Shuttle Pilot,
Are you referring to the email describing "issues" with the landing gear? You are right, management really do keep their pilots well informed!
So since you are in a position of great knowledge, not to mention an expert speller, maybe you can explain why Avantair have had so many "issues" over the past year. I could count the amount of blown tires, but I just don't have the time. Anyway, I'd rather be under my rock.
As for the "crawl under your rock" comment.....are you retarded?
Hey, say hi to B-19 when you pass his office on Monday!

I never implied that the management is by any stretch of the imagnination, adaquate. I was simply commenting on the speculation by you, that they would try to hang the crewmembers out to dry. My great knowledge comes from the fact that I actually work there. Piaggios are as reliable as any hand crafted Italian engineered product, fact is the airplane has carbon brakes and its apparent lack of an anti-skid system results in a hight number of blown tires. Not a new problem this year or last year, a problem from day one. No coverup there tough guy, a glareing oversight by Piaggio, you bet. But, if you worked there you would know this. Not to mention that blown tires were not the cause of this problem, gonna have to wait for the investigation to make an informed decision on that. A point worth making is that it seems that people, like yourselves tend to pile on to any press and spin it to make Avantair look bad. The fact that managment does this without trying, does not help. Is your goal here to help our pilot group or just trash our company because you just don't like it. As far as retarded goes, I only smash retarded bloggers like yourself over their heads with the very kock........er rock they crawled from under. And by the way, I don't agree with B-19 and his or her stance on unions.

 

[gunfyter]

I think when you are the PIC of a the "Emergency aircraft" ... you get to pick where to land.

I think when we question decisions of the crew that landed safely ... at the NEAREST SUITABLE field... we are asking for trouble.