Friday, June 15, 2012

Incident occurred June 15, 2012 at Sikorsky Memorial Airport (KBDR), Bridgeport, Connecticut

 
A plane slid off the runway at Sikorsky Memorial Airport around 11:30 a.m. Friday, June 15. 


No one was injured when a plane skidded off the runway at Sikorsky Memorial Airport Friday, June 15. 

No one was injured when a plane skidded off the runway at Sikorsky Memorial Airport Friday, June 15.

The twin-engine plane came to rest a few feet off the end of the runway, in a grassy area.

According to a Tweet from Stratford Fire Department Local 998, Engine 3, Engine 1, TAC 5, Ladder 1 and Car 3 were sent to the airport at 11:35 a.m. for a report of a plane in trouble.

WTNH reported that the plane was undergoing maintenance and never left the ground.

Dispatch updated firefighters that they had received one call reporting an airplane off the runway.

The on-duty assistant chief arrived and informed units that it appeared everyone was safely out of the aircraft.

The Stratford Star was the the first media on the scene. The Sikorsky Airport Fire Department crash truck was parked near the aircraft, and Stratford fire and police units rolling in.

Stratford EMS and American Medical Response also arrived on the scene.

Stratford Fire and EMS units, along with AMR, left the scene a short time after they arrived.

Because the airport is Bridgeport property, fire and police from the Park City also arrived.

Airport personnel were near the aircraft and preparing to tow it back onto the runway around noon.

Traffic slowed and passers-by parked along Stratford Road to view the scene and take photographs.

STRATFORD -- A plane testing its brakes at Sikorsky Memorial Airport lost control Friday morning when the brakes malfunctioned and skidded about 20 feet off the runway and into the grass. 

 A Stratford Fire Department dispatcher said the incident happened at about 11:25 a.m. The twin-engine Baron aircraft, based at the airport, was undergoing maintenance when the malfunction occurred, according to John Ricci, airport manager.

"The plane was never airborne," Ricci said. "They were using the alternate runway to test the brakes. The brakes failed or locked up and the plane overshot the pavement and went into the grassy area about 20 feet."

According to emergency dispatches, the plane was smoking as it skidded from Runway 11/29 and into the grass about 20 feet away, but the smoke was quickly extinguished. Ricci said the smoke was the result of the brake failure.

Two people were on board at the time of the incident, but both people got out safely.

Sikorsky Memorial Airport is owned by the City of Bridgeport. Prior to 1937 when Bridgeport purchased the airport, it was known as Mollison Field. This name came from Captain James Mollison's crash landing in July 1933 during his attempt to fly across the Atlantic from Wales, England to New York. During the 1930s many now-famous aviators visited the field. Names such as Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Howard Hughes, and Juan Trippe can be found in the airport logbooks documenting their arrivals.

The airport has two runways, 6/24 and 11/29. Both are approximately 4,600 feet in length.

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