Copter lifts plane from Quabbin Reservoir sandbar
A plane that made an unexpected landing Tuesday on a sandbar in the Quabbin Reservoir was removed Wednesday and later flown home by its owner.
A helicopter was used to lift the aircraft from the ground and transport it to where it was repaired.
Bryan Camden, operations manager at Orange Municipal Airport, said the plane was brought to Orange by a New Hampshire helicopter service Wednesday night. He said the pilot, Guillaume de Ramel, 42, of Newport, Rhode Island, briefly had some repairs done before taking off in the same plane to return home.
Mr. de Ramel landed the plane on the sandbar at 2:52 p.m. Tuesday. State police said Mr. de Ramel contacted them and said he had landed the plane after experiencing mechanical problems with the 2015 fixed-wing Seawind plane. Nobody was injured in the incident, and there appears to be no evidence of any fuel spills although water testing is underway, state officials reported Tuesday. Mr. Camden said he did not know specifically what the mechanical problem was that prompted Mr. de Ramel to ground the plane on the sandbar.
State police, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority met earlier Wednesday to discuss how to get the plane off the sandbar, which is northwest of Mount L within the boundaries of the town of New Salem. Police said the investigation was continuing as to whether any charges were warranted.
Officials with the DCR, which manages the reservoir and watershed property, and the FAA said state regulations prohibit landing any aircraft on the Quabbin, but the airspace above the reservoir is not restricted.
Mr. Camden said the plane appeared to have little visible damage from the landing, other than perhaps some rock chips in the paint. He said he's sure Mr. de Ramel had to answer a lot of questions from the FAA and state police, but the important thing was that he was able to safely land the plane without injury.
Steven H. Foskett Jr. of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.
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Again, No Rattlesnakes Were Harmed
A plane that made an unexpected landing Tuesday on a sandbar in
the Quabbin Reservoir was removed Wednesday and later flown home by its
owner.
A helicopter was used to lift the aircraft from the ground and transport it to where it was repaired.
Various personnel were visible on the sandbar around 2:50 p.m. Then a
black helicopter with red markings flew over the site about 4 p.m., and
landed near the plane. After about an hour of adjustments, the
helicopter went airborne again, and a cable was attached from the
helicopter to the plane. The helicopter ascended straight up, and then
lifted the plane from the ground before heading north with the plane.
State police said Wednesday the owner hired a contractor to airlift the
aircraft from the site.
Bryan Camden, operations manager at Orange Municipal Airport, said the plane was brought to Orange by a New Hampshire helicopter service Wednesday night. He said the pilot, Guillaume de Ramel, 42, of Newport, Rhode Island, briefly had some repairs done before taking off in the same plane to return home.
Mr. de Ramel landed the plane on the sandbar at 2:52 p.m. Tuesday. State police said Mr. de Ramel contacted them and said he had landed the plane after experiencing mechanical problems with the 2015 fixed-wing Seawind plane. Nobody was injured in the incident, and there appears to be no evidence of any fuel spills although water testing is underway, state officials reported Tuesday. Mr. Camden said he did not know specifically what the mechanical problem was that prompted Mr. de Ramel to ground the plane on the sandbar.
State police, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority met earlier Wednesday to discuss how to get the plane off the sandbar, which is northwest of Mount L within the boundaries of the town of New Salem. Police said the investigation was continuing as to whether any charges were warranted.
Officials with the DCR, which manages the reservoir and watershed property, and the FAA said state regulations prohibit landing any aircraft on the Quabbin, but the airspace above the reservoir is not restricted.
Mr. Camden said the plane appeared to have little visible damage from the landing, other than perhaps some rock chips in the paint. He said he's sure Mr. de Ramel had to answer a lot of questions from the FAA and state police, but the important thing was that he was able to safely land the plane without injury.
Steven H. Foskett Jr. of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.
A helicopter was used to lift the aircraft from the ground and transport it to where it was repaired.
Bryan Camden, operations manager at Orange Municipal Airport, said the plane was brought to Orange by a New Hampshire helicopter service Wednesday night. He said the pilot, Guillaume de Ramel, 42, of Newport, Rhode Island, briefly had some repairs done before taking off in the same plane to return home.
Mr. de Ramel landed the plane on the sandbar at 2:52 p.m. Tuesday. State police said Mr. de Ramel contacted them and said he had landed the plane after experiencing mechanical problems with the 2015 fixed-wing Seawind plane. Nobody was injured in the incident, and there appears to be no evidence of any fuel spills although water testing is underway, state officials reported Tuesday. Mr. Camden said he did not know specifically what the mechanical problem was that prompted Mr. de Ramel to ground the plane on the sandbar.
State police, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority met earlier Wednesday to discuss how to get the plane off the sandbar, which is northwest of Mount L within the boundaries of the town of New Salem. Police said the investigation was continuing as to whether any charges were warranted.
Officials with the DCR, which manages the reservoir and watershed property, and the FAA said state regulations prohibit landing any aircraft on the Quabbin, but the airspace above the reservoir is not restricted.
Mr. Camden said the plane appeared to have little visible damage from the landing, other than perhaps some rock chips in the paint. He said he's sure Mr. de Ramel had to answer a lot of questions from the FAA and state police, but the important thing was that he was able to safely land the plane without injury.
Steven H. Foskett Jr. of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.
One would think a 2015 plane would not need to have emergency landings.
ReplyDeleteIt would be like owning a new car and breaking down on the way in for your first oil change.