Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Boston, Massachusetts
Aircraft made a forced landing on East Lake for unknown reasons and sank.
https://registry.faa.gov/N8117U
Date: 21-DEC-19
Time: 16:00:00Z
Regis#: N8117U
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA28
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: DESTROYED
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: APPROACH (APR)
Operation: 91
City: HANSON
State: MASSACHUSETTS
HALIFAX (CBS) — A pilot was rescued from a Halifax lake after a small plane landed in the water Saturday. Police said residents on Lake Street helped pull him from East Monponsett Lake.
The Halifax Fire Department said witnesses reported that the crash happened just after noon. Witnesses told the department the pilot escaped the plane after the crash and stood on the wing of the plane. A passersby then went to help him by rowing out in his neighbor’s canoe and brought him back to shore.
“I saw him sinking. He was just sinking down in the lake and he had no jacket,” said John Keegan, who rescued the pilot. “He was screaming for help.”
The pilot was identified as Michael Lupo, 55, of Rehoboth. He told Keegan that he had problems as soon as he took off from the airport. He was not injured.
“The front of the plane exploded,” Keegan said. “The landing gear went out on the ice and then the nose cone went one way and it just tore the front of the plane apart.”
Keegan said the hardest part of rescuing Lupo was cutting through the ice with a paddle to get to him.
“You had to take the paddle and smash it through the ice and pull it forward,” Keegan said. “As we were going, the canoe would go up on the ice and then go down as the weight started coming back. It took a while to get to him.”
As of 5:00 p.m. Saturday, divers could be seen placing lift bags under the fuselage to float the plane for removal from the water.
“The neighbors did an amazing job. They got to him very quickly,” said Halifax Police Chief Jason Viveiros.
No other injuries have been reported. It is unclear what caused the crash.
The FAA released a statement saying: “A Piper PA-28 aircraft made a forced landing on East Lake in Halifax, Mass., around 11 a.m. today. Only the pilot was aboard. Contact local authorities for the pilot’s name and medical condition. The FAA will investigate.”
The FAA is also looking into a plane crash that took place in Florida, Mass. Friday night. Two adults and one minor were hurt but their injuries are not serious.
Story and video ➤ https://boston.cbslocal.com
HALIFAX, MASS. (WHDH) - Witnessed saved a pilot from his sinking plane after it crashed into a a Halifax lake Saturday, and officials are investigating what brought the plane down.
A Piper PA-28-181 Archer II aircraft enroute to Marshfield’s airport crashed 100 yards off shore of the East Monponsett lake at noon, according to Halifax fire officials. Witnesses said they saw the plane flying low before it crashed down.
“He must’ve known he didn’t have the power,” said John McDonough, who lives by the lake. “I did hear him say he was having throttle problems. He couldn’t throttle up.”
“It looked like it was coming right for the house,” said Erin McDonough, John’s granddaughter. “And then all of a sudden it turned and the wing hit the ice and it went straight a face plant.”
The pilot climbed out of the plane onto the cockpit, but was stranded and screaming for help.
“He was panicking. He was worried he couldn’t swim,” said Aaron Sellers, who was at the lake. “He was screaming for help so we tried to calm him down from the shore, saying ‘We’re coming, we’re coming, we’re coming.’”
Sellers’ brother-in-law jumped into action, grabbing a canoe from another man and heading to the plane despite the four-inch thick ice.
“You take the paddle and you’re basically breaking the ice as you’re going,” Sellers said. “So that’s why it took him so long to get out there.”
The pilot was rescued unharmed, but the ice made recovering the plane difficult for emergency responders.
“The biggest challenge that we had to face is getting boats out here because of the amount of ice,” said Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.
First responders used an airboat to bring the plane closer to shore, where the narrow space between neighboring houses meant officials had to cut its wings off to bring it away from the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why the plane went down. Viveiros said the witnesses who rushed to the pilot’s aid were a big factor in the crash not being worse than it was.
“They did a great job. They saw someone in need, they acted,” Viveiros said. “They definitely made a difference.”
Story and video ➤ https://whdh.com
The pilot was the only one aboard when the Piper PA-28-181 Archer II plane made a forced landing around 11 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. Halifax Police said the pilot was not injured after being rescued by residents on Lake Street.
That rescue came from neighbors who used a canoe to get to the pilot, who was balancing on the sinking plane when help arrived.
“I turned the corner and there’s a plane in the water sinking and the guy is standing on top yelling, ‘help,’” said Aaron Sellers, a local resident.
“We grabbed the paddleboard from next door, tried to drop it in, [but] weren’t going anywhere with that," Sellers added. “[We] grabbed this canoe next door and my brother-in-law took it all the way out.”
Bill Taylor said it was his canoe that Sellers’ brother-in-law used to help rescue the pilot.
“They came running over, banging on the windows, [asking], ‘you have an oar for the canoe?’” Taylor said.
He then ran to his shed to grab the oars and watched in awe as the man fought through the thick ice to get to the pilot.
“The plane was pretty much on top when it started, but by the time he got out there the guy was standing on top of the plane,” Taylor said. “And it was up to his knees when they got there with the canoe.”
Sellers said his brother-in-law used the oars to break the ice on both sides of the canoe as he ventured to where the plane was. It took almost 15 minutes to reach the pilot, who was nearly up to his chest in the freezing water when help arrived.
“He was panicking,” Sellers said. “He was worried, he couldn’t swim. He was just screaming for help. From the shore, we tried to calm him down.”
Neighbors helped pull the pilot out of the boat and let him warm up inside their homes. Police say the pilot did not go to the hospital after being evaluated by EMTs.
The FAA said it will investigate the crash.
Story and video ➤ https://www.boston25news.com
https://komonews.com/news/local/memorial-set-for-monday-for-fallen-pierce-county-deputy
ReplyDeleteThe pilot should start playing the Powerball lottery as he is the luckiest person I know. Glad all ended well and kudos to him for making a textbook ditching.
ReplyDelete