A South Weymouth couple miraculously escaped serious injury Saturday morning when their company-owned twin-engine private aircraft malfunctioned, crashed, and caught fire while attempting to land at Norwood Airport.
Miraculous Escape from Burning Aircraft
Pilot Ronald L. White, 54, of 103 Pine Street, South Weymouth, and his wife, Charlotte, 48, managed to escape through a rear cabin door after their $100,000 Beechcraft Bonanza—owned by the William F. Mitchell Company of Beverly, a golf course design firm—crashed near the airfield.
The couple had departed Zahns Field in Long Island, New York, at 8:00 a.m. and were attempting to land at Norwood at 9:15 a.m. so Mrs. White could be driven back to their South Weymouth home by their son, Ronald W. White, 29. Incredibly, the entire crash was witnessed from the ground by their son and three of their grandchildren, who were waiting parked in a car by the airstrip.
Pilot White, a former U.S. Navy pilot who had retired from military service just three weeks prior after 27 years of accident-free flying, explained that the disaster struck when the right wing flap failed to operate properly, causing him to lose control as the aircraft approached the north landing strip. The plane veered off course, striking the east-west runway with its nose and right wing. White noted that severe injury was averted because the crash occurred at the aircraft’s minimum landing speed and the fuselage did not flip over.
Fire Department Response and Total Loss
Although the occupants escaped safely, an engine fire erupted upon impact. Norwood firefighters responded instantly, blanketing the craft with foam and confining the blaze to the engine compartment, though heat and structural damage left the $100,000 aircraft a total loss.
Mr. and Mrs. White were transported by ambulance to Norwood Hospital, where they were treated for minor cuts, bruises, and shock, and subsequently reported in good condition. Ironically, White revealed that he had flown the plane to Long Island specifically to have the malfunctioning flap repaired.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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