By MARY ANN GREIER, Staff Writer
Pilot error contributed to a single-engine plane crash Thursday morning at the Salem Airpark which caused minor injuries to two people on board, along with a fuel spill, Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Bret Henderson said.
"The pilot misjudged the runway," he said.
A press release from the Canfield post of the patrol said the plane touched down short of the west end of the runway at 8:30 a.m. and struck a grass hillside, coming to rest on the side of the runway.
The six-passenger plane was described as a Socata TBM 800 by Tony Molinaro, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman for the Great Lakes Region in Chicago, Ill.
The FAA sent representatives to the scene to investigate, but Molinaro said the report could take a few weeks or a few months, depending on the crash. All he could say about the crash was that it occurred while the plane was approaching the runway.
The pilot, Patrick Urschel, 34, and his passengers, Robin Harlow, 61, Jason Martin, 39, and William Monroe, 38, came from Valpraiso, Ind. and had plans to land in Salem for a business meeting. They were all from Indiana. Harlow was transported to Salem Community Hospital with minor injuries. Henderson said Martin also went to get checked out.
"We're lucky it wasn't serious - it could have been a fatality," Henderson said.
Damascus Fire Chief John Bricker said the plane had a capacity to hold 300 gallons of fuel, but was only holding about 250 gallons when it crashed. He said about 180 to 200 gallons of fuel spilled.
"We had it pretty much contained," he said.
The fire department used absorbent pads to soak up some of the fuel and called the Mahoning County Hazardous Materials Response Team to the scene to clean it up.
Bricker described the plane as totaled, but said the cabin was intact with no damage to the inside. He said one of the wings was severely damaged and the propeller also sustained damage.
He said the plane hit the end of the runway, bounced up and slid part of the way, landing in the grass.
No one on the ground was injured.
Mary Ann Greier can be reached at mgreier@salemnews.net
