Shuttle America plane makes emergency landing

08/30/00

By MICHAEL RATCLIFFE Staff Writer

EWING -- The pilot of a Shuttle America plane out of Trenton Mercer Airport declared an in-flight emergency minutes after takeoff last night, then returned and made a safe landing, Mercer County officials said.

The plane, carrying 17 people -- 14 passengers and a crew of three -- was Shuttle America Flight 29, which departed from Trenton Mercer at 9:11 p.m., said Mercer County Sheriff's Department Chief Joe Lech.

It was scheduled to go to Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., he said.

But when the plane reached an altitude of 2,000 feet, the pilot reported the Dash 8 Turboprop experienced hydraulic problems, Lech said.

At 9:20 p.m., the pilot declared an in-flight emergency, he said.

The pilot, whose name was not available late last night, immediately turned around and headed back to Trenton Mercer, said Thomas W. Rubino, spokesman for Mercer County Executive Robert Prunetti.

The airport tower operator informed Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Demko and Sheriff's Officer Jared Walulak, who were on duty at Trenton Mercer, Lech said. The airport's fire department was also alerted.

As a precaution, equipment and manpower from all three Ewing volunteer fire companies -- West Trenton, Pennington Road and Prospect Heights -- were immediately sent to the airport to back up the airport crew.

Ewing ambulances also responded, while first aid squads in Pennington and Titusville were placed on stand-by in their respective headquarters.

"There are procedures in place," Lech said. "Anytime an emergency is declared, everyone is notified and the emergency equipment is brought in."

Meanwhile, the pilot of Flight 29 circled Trenton Mercer while manually lowering the plane's landing gear, Lech said.

Once the landing gear was locked down, the pilot moved in for a landing, Lech said.

At 9:42 p.m., with fire and emergency trucks staged along the airstrip, Flight 29 descended to the runway and made a safe landing with no injuries to any of the passengers or crew, Lech said.

Although the emergency crews stood by, they did not foam down the runway, since the air crew had managed to crank down the landing gear, Lech said.

Lech said the plane will be grounded until it can be examined and any necessary repairs made. Last night, Shuttle America was making plans to bring in another plane to continue the aborted flight, he said.

Attempts to reach officials of Connecticut-based Shuttle America were unsuccessful last night.

The airline's Web site described its fleet of planes as Dash 8 Series 300 prop-jets with a 50-seat capacity and notes that there are more than 500 such planes in service around the world.

With offices in Windsor Locks, Conn., Shuttle America serves Albany and Buffalo, N.Y.; Hartford/Springfield, Conn., and Boston as well as Trenton Mercer and Greensboro.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/times/index.ssf?/mercer/times/08-30-0ZRBFE0B.html

-- Doris (reaper1@mindspring.com), August 30, 2000