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.
“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.
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.
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
