Plane Skids Off Montauk Runway
Three people escaped injury when a small plane they were in crashed as it landed at the Montauk Airport Monday afternoon.
The Piper Saratoga, a fixed-wing, single-engine, skidded off the runway and careened into the brush on the side of the runway at the East Lake Drive airport.
According to FlightAware.com, the plane took off from Westchester County Airport at 11:35 a.m. and touched down in Montauk at 12:15 p.m. The pilot told police he was landing when the plane hit a wind-shear, hit a wing, and went off the runway.
Both wings were badly damaged, but the fuel line appeared to be untouched.
The Montauk Airport is closed until the plane can be towed. A woman who answered the phone at the airport said no one was hurt and that “it was more of an incident.” The FAA will conduct a routine investigation.
The Montauk Fire Department received a report of a crash at about 12:45 p.m. (The discrepancy in time is unclear). Emergency medical service personnel responded and checked out the pilot and two passengers on board. No one was transported to the hospital, Chief Mickey Valcich said through a spokesman.
Two pumpers and fire police personnel also responded. The East Hampton Town police also responded.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s website, the plane is owned by Rick Oliver of Pearl River, which is located in Rockland County, New York. Police confirmed Oliver was the pilot.
The plane, manufactured in 1969, had made several trips over the past week, including a trip from Westchester to Montauk on August 3, and then a return trip just a few hours later.
With Reporting by T.E. McMorrow
Vetted Hamptons Resources
