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02/27/2017 11:00 PMOne man is dead and another was in critical condition at Yale New Haven Hospital following a single-engine plane crash into the marshes south of Tweed-New Haven Airport shortly before 10 a.m. on Feb. 22. Officials have identified the deceased as 31-year-old Pablo Campos-Isona, an East Haven resident. Rafayel Hany Wassef, 20, of New London, remains in critical condition at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Local, state, and federal agencies were all on the scene that day with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) taking over the investigation of the cause of the crash. At a press conference held shortly after the crash, Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., said the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, but the NTSB and FAA have begun their investigation.
Robert Gretz, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, is spearheading the investigation, working with the insurance company and recovery company for Connecticut Flight Academy, which was operating the single engine, two-seater Piper Tomahawk aircraft.
The recovery company is based out of Delaware and after extricating the plane from the East Haven swamp, it will transport the wreckage there where the investigation will take place.
“We will focus on documenting the pilots, the machine, and the environment and getting the tapes from the tower,” said Gretz. “The preliminary report is that they were doing practice takeoff and landings and shortly after takeoff, they reported a generic Mayday. In trying to get back to the airport, the aircraft went nose-down into the swamp area.”
The preliminary report on initial findings will be available on NTSB.gov by Wednesday, March 8, however, the final factual report will not be completed for another 6 to 12 months and will not be released until it goes before the safety board.
“This is day one of an investigation that will last about a year,” said Gretz at a press conference on the afternoon of the crash.
Rescue crews from East Haven assisted by emergency personnel from New Haven and Branford struggled through water and deep mud to locate the crash, which was 25 yards off of the southeast side of Runway 2 in an area of 10-foot tall marsh plants. The site was located approximately 15 minutes after the crash was called in at 9:57 a.m. by a Roses Farm Road resident.
“We want send our condolences to the family of the deceased and want to thank all of the outside organizations who assisted us yesterday,” said Lieutenant Joe Murgo. “In these situations, there is always a period of chaos. It is during this time that our training comes into play. [It] was an example of several different agencies working together towards one common goal: to tend to the injured and address the loss of life.”
Several area officials were on hand as the rescue efforts were underway with Maturo, Police Chief Ed Lennon, Fire Chief Doug Jackson, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, and Jim Larson, the executive director of Tweed Airport, all agreeing that past training paid dividends in the rescue effort. The groups do live training exercises biennially and also meet annually for tabletop exercises.
“We have an amazing relationship with two incredible departments—the New Haven and East Haven fire departments and police departments,” said Larson. “Their skill is incredible.”
The accident occurred just more than two years after the August 2013 incident in which a plane crashed into two houses on Charter Oak Avenue, killing the pilot and his son, along with two children at home in one of the houses.
“It’s always very unfortunate whether we have an air flight crash or motor vehicle crash, but these things do happen,” said Maturo. “I do understand people’s concern, however, I do feel this is a safe airport. The FAA and airport authority do the best they can in keeping everyone safe, the same as the police and state police do on our roads. They have a very good track record here at Tweed. Our hearts go out to the families.”