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Pilot Error Cited in Accident; 'Lost Control' Before Crash, Airport Says

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By RICHARD COWEN, STAFF WRITER

Aviation investigators are trying to figure out why a single- engine plane crash-landed at Lincoln Park Airport on Sunday, leaving the pilot and his passenger scrambling for safety as fire consumed the fuselage.

On Monday, airport management initially pointed to pilot error, and the pilot referred inquiries to federal investigators.

Initial reports suggest that the pilot overshot the notoriously short runway, then veered left into a patch of trees about 100 feet from the edge of the landing strip.

The pilot, identified as Michael Meyers of Manhattan, and his passenger, Craig Denecke, 51, of Madison, narrowly escaped death as the airplane burst into flames.

The crash is the fifth accident reported at Lincoln Park Airport since September. FAA spokesman Jim Peters said investigators would examine the wreckage to determine if a mechanical malfunction contributed to the crash. If no malfunction is found, then pilot error would be the likely explanation, he said.

The airport released a brief statement on Monday, suggesting the accident was due to pilot error.

"In the course of the landing, the pilot lost control of the aircraft, which ran off the runway and into the woods," the statement said.

The plane, a Cirrus SR22 manufactured in 2005, is registered to Inalytix LLC, a computer consulting company in Manhattan.

Meyers, who is listed as president of the parent company of Inalytix, declined to discuss the crash when reached by phone at his office Monday. "Talk to the FAA," he said.

The FAA declined to comment on the crash until an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board is completed.

A spokesman for the NTSB did not return repeated calls for comment on Monday.

The plane took off from Essex County Airport in Caldwell on Sunday for a flight up the Hudson River Valley to Albany, N.Y., officials said. Around 3:40 p.m. the plane attempted to land at Lincoln Park Airport.

The runway, at 2,942 feet, is much shorter than those of any of the surrounding airports in North Jersey - certainly far shorter than Essex County in Caldwell, which has landing strips of 3,721 and 4,553 feet. Nearby Greenwood Lake's runway is also longer, 3,740 feet.

Local pilots say Lincoln Park's relatively short strip can be a challenge for pilots, but isn't considered dangerous.

"You should have no problem landing at Lincoln Park Airport," said Bob Moeller, president of the Lincoln Park Pilots Association. "This airport is safe if the pilot is competent and has adequate experience. It's not too short if you know what you are doing."

The airport doesn't have a control tower. Pilots arrange their own takeoffs and landings using the same radio frequency to talk among themselves.

Peters of the FAA said there is no federal requirement for a control tower because the airport services only small single- and double-engine, propeller-driven planes.

"The planes they have there are all low and slow," Peters said. "A safe landing rests solely with the pilot."

***

E-mail: cowen@northjersey.com

(SIDEBAR, page L01)

Airport mishaps

Sunday's crash of a single-engine plane at Lincoln Park Airport was the fifth accident since September. A look at the others:

* Sept. 5: Two planes skid off the runway within an hour of each other. The pilot of the plane involved in the second mishap suffers minor injuries.

* Nov. 26: A four-seat Piper Comanche crashes just after takeoff, nose-diving through trees and just missing two homes on Anthony Boulevard. The pilot suffers several broken bones and is hospitalized for more than two weeks; his passenger escapes with cuts and bruises.

* Jan. 10: A Piper PA is forced to make an emergency landing in a field in Pequannock after experiencing engine problems. The plane comes to rest safely and no one is injured.

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

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