Copter landing surprises neighborhood
Police are investigating incident
By Brian Whitson and Patti Rosenberg
Daily Press
July 18, 2002, 3:02 PM EDT
JAMES CITY -- When John Chwaszczewski bought his house two years ago on Magruder Lane, he wanted a quiet place to relax and vacation during the summer months.
For the most part, that had been the case -- until Saturday morning when the neighborhood quickly became less of the vacation spot and more like something out of "Men In Black."
It was about 8 a.m. when Chwaszczewski, who was doing a little painting in his detached garage, heard a thunderous sound that sounded like it was right on top of him. He looked outside and saw a white helicopter hovering just 20 feet above the garage.
"I didn't know what was going on," said Chwaszczewski, who is a semi-retired construction worker who lives most of the year in Port Monmouth, N.J.
The helicopter then swooped down, just missing the top of his house and car, and landed in a vacant lot across the street, he said.
"It damned near took off the roof of my garage," Chwaszczewski said. "I ran across the street and the first thing I did was get the number of the helicopter."
The second thing Chwaszczewski did was run back inside to get his gun. When he looked out of his house, he saw a man hidden behind a tree, Chwaszczewski said. The man wore a business suit and ran over to the helicopter carrying a large black box, he said.
"My initial reaction was, this had got to be terrorists," he said. "I fired two shots. I tried to knock the windshield out of it. I don't know if I hit anything."
Chwaszczewski would not say what kind of gun he fired. He said the helicopter took off and he thought about firing more rounds but didn't for fear of making it crash in the neighborhood.
"It just happened so quick," he said.
The pilot of the helicopter insists a panel light came on and he landed as a precaution.
Police are investigating the incident to determine whether the helicopter malfunctioned or whether the pilot had planned the landing all along.
The passenger who was picked up lives across the street from where the helicopter landed.
Police say the man may not have been hiding behind the tree, but he may have been waiting for the helicopter.
The pilot said he wasn't aware shots were being fired when he landed.
Brian Whitson can be reached at 221-7220 or by e-mail at bwhitson@dailypress.com