Antique airplane crashes off Calverton runway
A 1947 Stinson fixed-wing aircraft landed on its wing off an aerospace company's runway after the plane was caught in a crosswind in Calverton on Saturday, April 30, 2016, Riverhead Town police said. The pilot, Daniel P. Charnews of Centerport, was not injured. Credit: Riverhead Town police
An antique airplane crash-landed at an aerospace facility in Calverton Saturday, veering off the runway before coming to rest in a grassy field, authorities said.
No one was injured in the crash, which happened at the Luminati Aerospace facility shortly before 4 p.m., Riverhead Town police said.
Police got a call from the company reporting an “unauthorized” aircraft had landed on their runway, and “may have crashed,” police said in a news release.
Responding officers learned that the 71-year-old owner and pilot of the 1947 Stinson 108 aircraft, Daniel Charnews of Centerport, came in for a landing at the company after his plane experienced “motor issues” in the air, police said.
After he landed, a crosswind caused Charnews to lose control of the aircraft as he taxied on the runway, police said. The plane ended up in a grassy field along the runway, coming to rest on its left wing, police said.
No injuries were reported.
Riverhead police detectives visited the scene, as did representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, police said. The FAA, which is investigating the incident, released the plane to Charnews, police said.
Neither Charnews nor the FAA could immediately be reached for comment Saturday night.
Luminati is an aerospace technology company focusing on research, development, testing, and manufacturing of next-generation solar-electric unmanned aerial vehicles at the Calverton air base, according to the company’s website.
Anyone with information on Saturday’s incident is asked to call Riverhead police at 631-727-4500.
