Norwood Pilots Group Claims Oct. 15 Airport Crash Avoidable, Blames Commission on Safety Delays-November 5, 1981

Norwood Airport Association Vice President Stanley Prussian Criticizes Commission Safety Response

The vice president of a pilots group charged last night that an Oct. 15 plane crash at Norwood Airport might have been avoided if the airport commission had made safety improvements recommended by pilots. Stanley Prussian of the 100-member Norwood Airport Association told the commission at its meeting that the crash might not have occurred if a rocky ledge near the main runway had been removed and landing aid equipment had been installed. Commission member John F. Rockett said Prussian’s comments were rash. He recommended that speculation about the cause of the crash cease until the Federal Aviation Administration’s investigation is complete. Rockett and commission Chairman Wilfred C. Chesebrough denied the commission has refused to remove the ledge. Chesebrough declined to comment on the landing aid equipment. A twin-engine plane, piloted by a priest, crashed short of the main runway and burst into flames while landing in dense fog at night. The pilot, the Rev. John T. Lawler, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Billerica, ran from the wreckage and escaped serious injury. As the plane came in low toward the runway, it apparently struck the ledge first, before bouncing and catching fire, Prussian said.

If the ledge, which is several feet high and about 100 feet from the runway, had been removed, the plane would probably have made it to the runway, he said. We came very close to a fatality, he said. Prussian, who lives at 1 Access Road, said the commission passed up an opportunity to remove the ledge two years ago. He said the FAA had offered to pay most of the cost of removing the hazard. Prussian said a glide slope, which would complete the airport’s instrument landing system, might have prevented the pilot from flying too low. The commission has pledged that it will not allow the FAA to install the glide slope without town meeting’s consent – consent that is unlikely to come. Opponents of airport growth say they fear a complete instrument landing system would attract more planes to Norwood. A glide slope would tell pilots if they are too low or too high during landings by sending electronic signals to instruments on the planes. The first part of the system, a localizer that helps pilots line up with the runway, has been installed. Rockett and Chesebrough said the commission never refused funds to remove the ledge. Rockett said the commission agreed two years ago to include the removal of the ledge in any future airport improvement project subsidized by the FAA. Funds for the removal of the ledge were not available when the last project – repairs to runway lights – was done two years ago, he said. The ledge is slightly higher than the end of the runway, he said. It’s never been a problem, but we recognized it and we want to take care of it. Chesebrough said the FAA is scheduled to remove the ledge at no cost to the town when it installs new approach lights, possibly before the end of the year. The commission agreed to seek a copy of the results of the FAA’s investigation into the crash. Chesebrough said he did not know when the investigation would be completed. (File photo taken Oct. 15 by staff photographer Nick Diesso of Sharon showing airport security guard inspecting wreckage in the fog).

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger