Emergency personnel from the Southwick fire department stand by a small Cessna aircraft that flipped over after an emergency landing in a grass field at 247 North Loomis Street Mondayafternoon. The pilot escaped with just a small cut on his nose according to witnesses on the scene. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – John Tonelli,the pilot of a single-engine airplane that made a forced landing on North Loomis Street Monday afternoon, walked away with only a scratched nose.
The Cessna is registered to JHT Aircraft, LLC out of Delaware.
Southwick resident Michael Morriss saw the plane was in trouble and was first on the scene.
Morriss was traveling in his truck from South Loomis onto North Loomis when he noticed the small plane come over Sodom Mountain.
“I saw it was in a tailspin and followed it,” said the Westover Air Base ground engine mechanic. “It was too low for the residential neighborhood and was out of control.”
Morriss pulled over as the pilot climbed out of the plane.
“I made sure he was okay and asked if he wanted me to call (911), but he was on the phone already,” said Morriss.
“He said he was flying from Rhode Island and called Bradley (International Airport) for help and they were directing him to another airport, which I’m assuming was Barnes,” said Morriss.
Morriss said Tonelli told him the problem was with the fuel transfer switch.
“He had no power,” Morriss said. “He glided in.”
The plane landed first behind the Cannizzaro home on North Loomis Street in a field path that is actually a registered landing strip.
Nancy Cannizzaro said she was in the house when her horses began acting up.
“The horses is what alerted me,” she said. “It appears that the plane touched down on our property, then bounced next door to the Hayden’s,” Cannizzaro said.
Cannizarro’s husband is also a pilot. She said the landing strip was attractive to them when they moved into the home 16 years ago, but they rarely use it because of insurance costs.
The Cessna landed in the grass, then hit a dirt road in between two fields, which caused it to flip over.
The Southwick Fire Department responded with an engine, two ambulances and several rescue trucks, including the forestry truck. While there was no imminent danger of a fire, the department had its foam truck at the ready and applied foam from Engine No. 2 to prevent ignition of fuel vapors. There were no injuries.
The SFD turned control over to State Police at the scene and the Federal Aviation Administration arrived, as well as the Department of Environmental Protection and National Transportation Safety Board.
Fire Chief Richard Anderson said the scene was eventually turned over to the NTSB and Prifti Motors was able to flip the plane right-side-up. He commended the work of his department and said he believes Tonelli was taken to Barnes Airport where he rented a vehicle.
According to an online registry, the plane is registered to JHT Aircraft in Wilmington, Delaware and is a co-owned plane built in 1962.
It is a fixed-wing Cessna with a reciprocating engine manufactured by Cont Motors.
Morriss said Tonelli mentioned that there were fuel problems previously, but they had been fixed.
