PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A cargo plane made a successful controlled emergency landing in Presque Isle Wednesday morning after the pilot determined that the plane’s landing systems were not functioning.
The Northern Maine Regional Airport was temporarily closed at around 11 a.m. Wednesday when a Wiggins Airways plane carrying U.S. Postal Service cargo made the emergency landing, according to Presque Isle City Information Officer Kim Smith.
The airport was closed until about 2 p.m. as the damaged plane remained on the runway and officials investigated. Smith said shortly before 3 p.m. that the main runway would remain closed indefinitely pending cleanup and further investigation, but that passenger planes were now flying in and out using the other available runway.
Late Wednesday morning, the pilot contacted the airport staff from the air by radio to alert them of his situation. Airport staff helped him confirm that his landing wheels were not coming down and helped coordinate his planned emergency landing, Smith said.
Fire crews laid down foam on the runway for fire prevention while the pilot flew around the airport in circles to use up fuel before attempting the landing, Smith said.
The pilot, who was not identified, was the only person on board and was not not visibly injured, but was taken to The Aroostook Medical Center for evaluation, Smith said.
“The pilot did have military experience and I’m sure that that played into the fact that it was a safe landing,” she said.
Wiggins Airways President of Operations Donna Nixon said Wednesday evening that the pilot was not injured and had since left the hospital.
She said the Beech B99 was flying cargo from Manchester, New Hampshire, to Presque Isle. Nixon said she could not discuss the cargo being flown for customers and had no comment when asked to confirm whether any U.S. mail was on board.
Nixon said Wiggins Airways was cooperating with the authorities investigating the incident and could not comment on the status of the plane at that point.
There was not any fire associated with the landing, although it is not clear if the plane was damaged, Smith said.
At one point early afternoon, crews could be seen loading cargo from the downed plane onto a truck.
In the terminal shortly after noon, Logan Hebert of Caribou said he had been on his way to Florida when he learned that his 11:45 a.m. flight had been cancelled.
“I just can’t believe it,” Hebert said. “I’ve been worried about [Hurricane] Jose for two days, right, and the winds down there, and then to hear a cargo plane (went down) … I knew cargo planes came in here, but I can’t believe I got bumped because of a cargo plane.”
He planned to spend the next couple of hours in the airport doing work online while waiting for a later flight that afternoon.
Star-Herald writer Josh Archer contributed to this report.
Video courtesy of Issac Nelson
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- A rescue vehicle responds to an emergency landing at the Northern Maine Municipal Airport in Presque Isle at about noon on Wednesday. (Andrew Birden)
