A Long Island pilot was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Sunday morning after his Piper Arrow went down in a residential area of Bayonne, New Jersey. George Pettway, 56, of Wheatley Heights, reportedly radioed that he was having some kind of difficulty while flying near the Statue of Liberty and headed for the Jersey side. Bayonne Police spokesman Lt. James Donovan told the New York Daily News that Pettway said the aircraft had experienced some kind of mechanical failure. The aircraft is registered to Airborn Flight Services, of Farmingdale.
According to various local reports Pettway made a last-minute turn to avoid hitting a gas station and ended up inverted on a sidewalk, hitting several cars along the way. A piece of the plane went through the front doors of the gas station but none of the three people inside was hurt. No one in the cars was hurt but the vehicles were heavily damaged. The aircraft took down power lines and they remained live, creating a hazard for bystanders and emergency crews. The pilot was trapped inside the wreck and had to be cut out by first responders. He was reported to be alert and in stable condition at a local hospital.
