Pilot injured when plane hits truck
DUNBAR TWP. – A New York man suffered critical injuries Tuesday when the fixed-wing single-engine plane he was piloting crashed into a parked pickup truck at the Joseph A. Hardy – Connellsville Airport in Dunbar Township. According to officials at the scene, the plane, piloted by Chester J. Richer, of Dundee, N.Y., veered off the runway while landing and struck the pickup, pushing the Ford about 30 feet before coming to rest outside the Fixed Base Operations (FBO) building.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
No one else was injured in the crash, which occurred just before noon.
Monarch firefighter James Snyder said early indications revealed that the plane veered from the runway through a patch of grass as it approached the terminal.
“We were pretty fortunate that the truck was parked there, otherwise the plane would have crashed into the office,” Snyder said.
The plane hit the truck on the passenger side, where the bed meets the cab, and pushed the vehicle across the parking lot toward the building.
The airport authority owns the truck.
Richer was initially trapped in the plane and was extricated by STAT MedEvac personnel who responded from their base located at the airport. The medical helicopter used to fly Richer to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment was parked less than 50 feet from the site of the collision. A hospital spokes-woman said that Richer remained in critical condition as of press time.
A call to Richer’s New York home was not answered Tuesday evening.
According to Snyder, about 50 gallons of aviation fuel spilled from the plane as a result of the collision. Snyder said HazMat crews were taking extra precautions with the fuel, which he described as “much more volatile” than regular gasoline.
Tuesday afternoon, investigators from the state police forensics unit were also examining the scene.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane, a Dever Playmate with a Lycoming engine, was registered in 2005.
The plane – considered an experimental, amateur built aircraft – was constructed in 1981.
Airport Manager Samuel L. Cortis said Tuesday’s accident was the first at the airport since a student pilot crashed in February 2004.
Since January 2006, there have been 42 accidents involving aircraft across Pennsylvania resulting in 17 deaths.
“This is a horrible thing,” Cortis said. “We always hate to see someone get hurt.”
Cortis said it was not clear whether Richer had radioed the airport prior to landing, noting that the runway does not have a tower for pilots to call.
“What pilots typically do here is make a blind call and let us know where they are and what they are going to do,” Cortis said.
However, he said that he was not sure if Richer had called prior to landing or if the plane was scheduled to land at the airport. He said at non-towered airports it is not necessary to provide the airport with flight plans.
In addition to the Monarch Volunteer Fire Department, volunteer firefighters from Morrell, West Leisenring and Dunbar as well as firefighters from Uniontown and emergency personnel from the state police, Fayette County HazMat Team 900, Fayette EMS, Uniontown Fireman’s Ambulance, STAT MedEvac and the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the crash.