FAA probes McCarran emergency landing

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1999 | 11 a.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration has begun investigating the emergency landing of a private plane at McCarran International Airport Tuesday night that left a New Jersey family of six shaken but unhurt.

Airport spokesman John Hanks said it appears problems with a landing gear caused the pilot of a privately owned two-engine, 10-seater Beech Hawker-Sidley to land without wheels at 6:17 p.m., delaying some airline departures by about 17 minutes.

"The pilot made a textbook emergency wheels-up, belly landing," Hanks said. "He kept the aircraft straight, brought it down and cut the engines 30 feet above the runway, cutting off all the electrical. When he finally touched down there was very little chance of starting a fire from sparks created from the landing."

The names of the pilot and co-pilot were not released.

Meanwhile, a Cessna 150 aircraft made an emergency landing this morning at North Las Vegas Airport after its propellor spinner cone came off, authorities said. Neither of the two people in the aircraft were injured.

The plane landed safely about 9:20 a.m. as several fire engines were speeding to the scene. A dispatcher called the engines back when word came from the airport that the plane had landed without further incident.

The propellor did not come off. The loss of the cone, which sits in front of the aircraft, could have been a sign of potentially serious in-flight engine damage, an airport spokeswoman said.

Further details were not available at presstime.

The family flying in the plane that made an emergency landing Tuesday night is believed to be Don and Dawn Paparone and their four children of Cherry Hill, N.J.

The plane is owned by Paparone's construction company.

Paparone is a member of a southern New Jersey family well-known in the home construction industry.

The husband and wife are on the board of directors of an organization called Friends of The Children, which raises funds to provide medical and mental health services for children who have been victims of abuse.

Money raised by the organization helps the Center for Children's Support at the University of Medical and Dentistry of New Jersey in Stratford.

Dr. Martin Finkel, founder and director of the center, described the Paparones as "exceptional individuals. They have been very important to us."

He said the couple, as well as their extended family, are community activists.

"They are genuinely wonderful individuals," he said.

Hanks said the aircraft's last stop was at Salina, Kan., where it refueled.

"The pilot believed when they took off from Salina they blew a tire," he said.

When the plane approached McCarran airport the pilot couldn't get the hydraulic landing gear to go down, Hanks said.

"They did a fly-by and the tower checked it out, and the gear was not down. The pilots tried to pump it down by hand, but were unsuccessful," he said. "They did another fly-by, and when they realized they were going to have to make an emergency landing, they burned off as much fuel as possible around Mount Charleston to minimize the risk of a fire."

After burning fuel for 10 minutes the plane returned to the airport and landed on a runway amid a shower of sparks. The landing was caught on video that was played on local and network news shows Tuesday night and today.

"When they landed there was a short burst of flames just as it came to a rest, but the flames went away long enough for the door to open and the passengers and crew to leave the aircraft," Hanks said.

"It took about 15 seconds for all to get out safely. They were a little shaken, but there were no injuries. They were fortunate to survive."

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said the "Red Dog" units stationed at the airport were at the downed craft within seconds after the emergency landing and shut down the fire.

Hanks said the aircraft came to a rest at the intersection of three runways. Two of the runways were temporarily closed.

He said eight aircraft that were lined up on the runway to take off were delayed in their departure for 17 minutes. There were no delays in scheduled landings.

Hanks said it took about three hours to remove the downed plane from the airstrip to a hangar at Signature Flight Support, where FAA officials are inspecting it.

"They are assessing the damage today," Hanks said. "It did not break apart. The underside took the most damage."