UPS EMB Diverts Into Wal-Mart in Manchester, pilot walks away!

[Thedude]

And he was heard saying "Take that walmart...that'll show 'em"

 

[FN FAL]

Yes, he was lucky. That had to be quite the experience. I know you guys are capable of looking up your own stories on the internet, but this one had more information on the type of plane and the company than most of the the other articles I saw tonight.

AirNow plane crashes into N.H. Wal-Mart

By Chris Parker Staff Writer


BENNINGTON -- One of AirNow's newest pilots was injured Tuesday morning when he crashed a company plane into a Wal-Mart garden center a mile from Manchester Airport in New Hampshire.


Now, federal aviation officials are investigating why the small cargo plane crashed. It was the same model plane another AirNow pilot was flying in Swanzey, N.H., earlier this year when he crashed and died.

Paul Seyler-Schmidt, 32, of Bangor, Maine, was the only person on board the twin-engine Embraer on Tuesday when it crashed shortly after takeoff from the airport.

The Wal-Mart store, which had about 40 workers and an unknown number of shoppers, was evacuated after the plane clipped a greenhouse, then flew into some metal storage trailers at 7:20 a.m. and exploded. Numerous boxes from the plane and the trailers were strewn about the area.

There were no known injuries on the ground and the main building wasn't damaged.

One witness said Seyler-Schmidt appeared to have a broken leg when he escaped the plane. He walked away and was sent to Elliot Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition.

"I want to thank the rescue workers and everyone who has shown concern for me following the plane crash," the pilot said in a statement released by the hospital. "I am thankful and lucky to be alive. I am especially thankful that no one was hurt on the ground."

Robin Outwater, a spokesman for AirNow, said Seyler-Schmidt was delivering cargo on a routine overnight express package run for United Parcel Service to Bangor when he apparently had some trouble during takeoff and attempted to circle back and land at the airport.

"The only thing that is clear is there is an indication the pilot experienced some kind of mechanical difficulty and tried to return to the airport," he said. "We are going to be working hard to determine the nature of the problem experienced and will address whatever the findings are."

Seyler-Schmidt, who recently moved to Maine from Wilmington, N.C., has been flying for more than 10 years and became an AirNow employee this past summer. Outwater described him as an experienced pilot who has done an "excellent job" for AirNow.

Outwater said the plane involved in Tuesday's crash was the identical make and model as the one involved in the Jan. 15 crash that killed AirNow pilot Douglas Nelson, 46, of Hamden, Maine. He died when his plane crashed in heavy fog at Dillian Hopkins Airport in Swanzey.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that incident was the result of pilot error and not "any operational distress or mechanical anomalies" to any of the engine components examined.

A witness of Tuesday's crash said he noticed an engine on the plane was out as the pilot attempted to turn back to the airport. Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane had no prior incidents and that P&W Engine Alliance made the engine.

The NTSB is investigating the crash, but hasn't made a determination and likely won't for weeks. Officials with the NTSB and the FAA declined to say what they thought triggered the crash.

Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Brazil-based plane manufacturer Embraer, said the company sent a representative to assist federal officials with the investigation.

He said production of the EMB-110P1 Bandeirante was discontinued about two years ago but didn't give a reason.

Outwater said AirNow will conduct an audit on its 15-plane fleet at its base of operations at the William H. Morse Airport after the federal investigation is complete and the findings are released.

For now, he said, it's business as usual at AirNow. The company, which employees about 65 people, including 40 pilots, has enjoyed a "tremendous" safety record in the air cargo industry, according to Outwater, and will continue flying its Embraers.

There have been only three major accidents in the company's 30-plus year history. AirNow has been find more than $16,000 by the FAA for failure to comply with some aviation standards in that time period.

In the winter of 1991, an AirNow pilot died when he crashed a Cessna Caravan because of icy conditions and pilot error. Outwater didn't say where the accident occurred nor would he name the pilot.
In January 1999, the pilot of the same make and model plane that crashed Tuesday reported having problems with the landing gear after landing at Buffalo Niagra International Airport in Buffalo, N.Y. A mechanic found some landing gear had frozen during flight.

 

[Metro752]

Heard about it on the news yesterday, Now if we could only find a more effective way to bring down the Walmart empire. Glad he walked away though!

you goofy anarchist

 

[JetBlast2000]

I Heard he lost an engine and well, ya know the rest. One luck mo-fo.