|
Plane Lost Front End in Crash. BY JOE MOSZCZJNSKI STAR-LEDGERSTAFF A plane that crashed in a mountainous area of Sussex County nearly two weeks ago hit the ground at an angle of almost 90 degrees, tearing apart the front end of the aircraft, according to a preliminary accident report issued yesterday. The pilot, Roland Melanson, 58, of Wantage died on impact from multiple injuries he suffered in the crash, authorities have said. "The cockpit and the portion of the fuselage forward of the front seats were destroyed. Both wings were separated. . . the engine Was separated trom the fuselage," according to the report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. An examination of the engine did not reveal any pre-crash malfunctions, the report states. The plane dropped out of the sky about five minutes after takeoff I trom Sussex Airport on June 19, Father's Day, but it took rescue teams five days to find the wreckage in the heavily forested Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The single-engine Cessna 182Q took off at 7:30 a.m. and Melanson reported by radio that he was at an altitude of 3,000feet at 7:34 a.m. It was the final communication with the pilot and radar contact was lost shortly afterwards, the report states. The crash occurred at about 7:35a.m. A final report, which will determine a probable cause of the accident, will be issued in about six months, he said. The wreckage has been taken to a NTSB storage facility in Delaware. stoJ! writer Stejanie Cohencontributed to this report. Joe Moszczynski may be reached oJ,scohen@Starledger com or (973)383-0516.
SEARCHERS: From Left to Right - Rich Oros (CJTR); 2nd LT Estevez, (CAP); Linda Murphy (CJTR) & Danny K9; Steve Pagano (CJTR) and C/1st LT Kelly (CAP)
|
||
Multiple trauma cited in death of Sussex pilot
Cause of crash likely mechanical
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
BY JOE MOSZCZYNSKI
A Wantage pilot died from multiple injuries suffered when his small plane crashed last week in the Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area, a Sussex County medical investigator said yesterday. The cause of the crash that killed Roland Melanson, 58, has not been determined but was likely a mechanical malfunction, said senior medical investigator John Schwinof. "That's what we're going on right now," he said. The death was ruled accidental, Schwinof said. "It was definitely not a heart attack or a stroke" or another medical condition that caused Melanson's death, he said. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the crash site yesterday but could not be reached for comment. Melanson's body and the wreckage of his single-engine Cessna 182P were found by a search team about 5 p.m. Thursday in Hardyston, one mile off Silver Lake Road. Police said Melanson was killed on impact. The plane vanished on June 19 after taking off from nearby Sussex Airport at 7:30 a.m. The plane disappeared from radar over Hamburg Mountain only minutes after takeoff, prompting a five-day search in the thickly forested state wildlife management area. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Melanson flew about four miles southeast and then started to turn back toward the small airport before the plane dropped off the radar at 2,900 feet. Neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to be involved in the accident, but a toxicology report will be conducted in the upcoming weeks by the FAA, Schwinof said. Melanson, an avid recreational pilot, was en route to the Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Bridgeport, Conn., and was to return to Wantage to spend Father's Day with his family. Visitation for Melanson will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow at St. Monica's Roman Catholic Church in Sussex Borough, where he was a parishioner and usher, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial. Cremation will be private.
|
