Posted on 12/15/2004 12:09:38 PM PST by billorites
ROSELAND -- Not too many people know Craig Miers, of Windham, N.H., but he became an instant hero here Tuesday afternoon.
Miers, 25, did what most pilots hope they never have to do: make an emergency landing in a bustling commercial area at lunchtime.
"He told me he got it over an intersection and dove it under some power lines," Miers' father, Stephen Miers, of New Hampshire, said in a telephone interview.
The "intersection" turned out to be the northbound lane of Indiana 933, just a few feet from a Howard Johnson Inn's entrance and directly across the street from the Heaven & Earth shop, where a sign out front urges visitors to "come in be inspired."
On Tuesday firefighters, police officers, witnesses and the three businessmen aboard the small turbo-prop plane Miers and his co-pilot glided to a safe landing, were more than inspired.
"We're happy to be alive," said Robert F. Greenhill Jr., an executive with a New York-based investment banking company.
Greenhill, William M. Cockrum IV and Nicholas Chermayeff were passengers on the plane. The co-pilot has not yet been identified.
The trio were in South Bend Tuesday where they met with officials from the University of Notre Dame on an undisclosed business deal.
The group's single-engine plane left South Bend Regional Airport for New York a little after 1 p.m.
Just minutes after takeoff for Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., Miers reported engine problems to air traffic controllers in South Bend and asked for permission to return to the airport.
According to Federal Aviation Administration officials, the plane had reached 7,000 feet and was about seven miles southeast of the airport when it turned around.
Officials said Miers received permission to land on Indiana 933, a route lined with restaurants, hotels and other businesses, and, usually, crawling with cars.
"We had to find a place to land but we had no options," said Greenhill. "It's hard to find the best alternative. There are no good options when you're over South Bend."
According to witnesses, the plane touched down on 933 north of Douglas Road and came to a jolting but safe stop about a quarter mile later.
"We lost our engine, came down and landed on a busy road," said Chermayeff. "It is very lucky that we didn't hit another car or have a vehicle hit us. We're just incredibly lucky."
The plane's wing clipped a power line during the landing, causing jet fuel to spill into the street.
Clay Township Fire Marshall Dave Cherrone estimated the plane was loaded with 400 gallons of fuel.
"We handled it like it was a tanker truck," he said.
Greenhill said Miers and the plane's co-pilot are extraordinary pilots.
Some witnesses agree.
Aaron Bolin saw the plane land from a nearby gas station.
"I want to shake that guy's hand," Bolin said about Miers. "I saw it going down. I couldn't believe there were no cars there.
"It was skidding and jumping and then it hit a pole. I heard the brakes skid."
Craig Miers' father said his son has been flying planes since high school.
"He is a great pilot," Stephen Miers said. "Anybody he has flown for say he's excellent."
Tuesday, however, was a first.
"He's never lost an engine before," Stephen Miers said. "That's pretty scary with a single engine, you just need to put it down."
Craig Miers politely declined to speak with reporters. He and the co-pilot were taken back to the airport and stayed overnight in the area, according to Marci Greenberger, the director of operations for the South Bend Regional Airport.
Stephen Miers said his son told him he went through a "checklist" of possibilities when he knew his plane was in trouble, but decided he had no choice but to land it.
Bolin, the manager at a Marathon station, was outside lowering the price of gas on a sign from $1.69 to $1.68 a gallon when he saw the plane coming toward him.
He was relieved that the turbo-prop plane didn't hit a gas tank.
With fuel leaking from the wing, an explosion was a serious concern to those on the plane and around it.
Bea Tomkiewicz said she was driving south on 933 when she saw the plane sputtering in the air, just a few hundred feet above rooftops.
"I saw fuel pouring from it," she said.
Once the plane stopped, a hatch door opened and the five people inside dashed from the plane.
"I saw the door open and they were just running," Tomkiewicz said. "I heard someone yell, 'It could blow.' "
Within seconds firefighters and police arrived, cordoning off a half-mile section of 933.
Cherrone said about 30 people from nearby businesses were evacuated because of the fuel spill.
As for the plane, FAA records show the aircraft was built in 2001 by Pilatus and owned by Riversville Aircraft Corp. of Greenwich, Conn. The company could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
"The pilot reported an engine problem to air traffic control, and he attempted to return to the airport," said NTSB air safety investigator Tim Sorensen, who will be handling the post-crash investigation. "We have no other information. We're waiting to hear from the FAA."
FAA officials and the pilot walked through the landing route on 933 shortly after the crash. "Our investigation will look at what happened and why, and that takes several weeks before it's completed," said Elizabeth Isham Cory, an FAA spokeswoman in Chicago.
NTSB records show the same type of plane that landed on 933 Tuesday -- a Pilatus PC-12/45 -- has been involved in at least six accidents since 2001. Two people were killed when a Pilatus crashed Sept. 14, 2002, near Westphalia, Mo.
Officials at South Bend Regional Airport said they didn't know if the plane was part of the airport's Corporate Wings program.
Because fuel was spilled during the landing, staff from the St. Joseph County Health Department and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management checked the drainage areas surrounding the road for any fuel contamination.
A county official said there was no evidence of problems, and the fuel was contained properly.
Traffic was tied up for several hours. Indiana 933 was closed at Cleveland Road to the north and Angela Boulevard to the south. Douglas Road was also closed at Ironwood Drive.
About 600 homes and businesses north and west of the University of Notre Dame campus lost power during the accident because the plane damaged a high voltage transmission line, said David Mayne, a spokesman for Indiana Michigan Power.
By 5:30 p.m., 300 customers were still without power, but Mayne said they could expect to be back on line by the late evening.
The plane was eventually moved to a parking lot near the Howard Johnson Inn. Authorities expect to move it back to the airport today.
The pilot's in the middle.
Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock , 6 miles!"
Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"
That was great! Thanks!
Check the Freeper Foxhole today. What was put on was Robert Scott who wrote, "God Is My Co-Pilot". Good timing, seems He is still in the cockpit when needed.
Good timing.
I hope I do half as well if I ever have to face an emergency landing over a city.
I'd fly with that Pilot any day.
Me too. I always have a tendency to come in too high on those engine-out simulations. Need more practice.
That's a big airplane.
DAMN!!!
GPS's are starting to be produced with a new feature. When you push a button, it presents a circle on the moving map that shows your 'radius of action' in a power off glide.
Better to be "lucky" than good. ;-)
Thanks for the ping Aero. All I can say is just, "WOW!".
Holy Tin Can, Batman!
Amen to that.
Remember GOD was at the controls. We are the copiolts, not HIM!
Headline: "...media brilliance continues to astound...:
...and getting traffic advisories from NASA...
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