linden-plane-crash.JPG

The plane crashed some 300 yards from a main road, and just shy of a NJ Transit rail line in Linden.

(Francis Micklow/Star-Ledger Staff)

By Tom Haydon and Tomas Dinges

LINDEN — The distress call came in moments after the single-engine airplane took off from Linden Airport early this afternoon.

The Diamond DA20 was having trouble gaining altitude, the pilot reported. Aboard was a 58-year-old flight instructor from Montclair and his 19-year-old student.

Flying low over homes and businesses along traffic-choked Routes 1&9 just after 1 p.m., the pilot apparently attempted to steer back toward the small airstrip before the propeller plane nose-dived, then crashed into railroad tracks on the former General Motors property, now a sprawling empty lot across the highway from the airport.

The flight instructor, Craig MacCallum, a commercial pilot certified in single-engine aircraft died shortly after he was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway, Linden Police Capt. James Sarnicki said.

The student, from Monmouth Junction, was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he remained in critical condition tonight. His name was not released.

One of the victims was thrown from the dual-control plane on impact, and another was initially trapped inside the wreckage, Sarnicki said.

Witnesses on the ground said they heard the craft straining to stay aloft seconds before it crashed. A man who dialed 911 from the ShopRite parking lot that abuts the runway told the dispatcher that the plane looked and sounded as if it was having difficulty climbing, police said.

David Martinez, 21, who works at a shipping company adjacent to the GM property, said he heard what sounded like an aircraft sputtering.

"You could tell it was struggling to be in the air. Then, just quiet," Martinez said. "There was no bang."

2 trchristie HINDASH.JPG

CONNECT WITH US

On mobile or desktop:

• Like The Star-Ledger on Facebook

• Follow @starledger on Twitter

And check out our redesigned mobile site by visiting NJ.com from any mobile browser.

Firefighters reached the crash scene within minutes, and a news helicopter image showed them attending to both victims before ambulances arrived. The white two-seat plane’s mangled fuselage — its serial number N176MA was clearly visible — jutted from the tracks, its nose crushed, its tail broken off. The tracks haven’t been used since the GM plant closed in 2005.

A team from the Federal Aviation Administration handled the initial investigation, but the National Transportation Safety Board has since taken over, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said. Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka said the NTSB was expected to conclude its investigation at the scene and remove the airplane Saturday.

Paul Dudley, operations director for Linden Airport, said the plane is operated by Best In Flight, one of several flight training schools based at the airport. Employees declined to speak to a reporter when approached hours after the crash. The plane involved in the crash has been based at the airport for two years, Dudley said.

Records show the 8-year-old plane is registered to NC Cuthbert, a limited liability company in Denville. Robert Hadow, 54, also of Denville, is listed as the company’s only officer, records show. Hadow, who could not be reached for comment, is a flight instructor for Best in Flight, according to his Twitter account and law enforcement officials.

It remains unclear who was at the controls when the plane went down, but whoever it was, the pilot knew immediately after takeoff something was wrong, Dudley said. The plane circled back around, he said, trying to find a spot to land without endangering anyone on the ground.

"I’m sure he wanted to land in the field," Dudley said, referring to the wide-open, 100-acre GM property. The investigation was still in its early stages and "we don’t know if this was mechanical, if this was heat-related," he said. Dudley said the pilot issued a mayday call moments after taking off, indicating something was wrong.

According to FAA records, MacCallum was a commercial pilot and had been certified to fly single-engine planes with instruments since 2004, and received his flight instructor’s license last September.

A woman who answered the phone at his Montclair home last night declined to comment.

MacCallum had previously worked for Aero Safety Training, a flight training school in Lincoln Park, according to an employee there. On the company's website, MacCallum is described as a lifelong flier and small aircraft owner, who would take his wife and two children on weekend outings throughout the northeast.



Staff writers Alexi Friedman and Richard Khavkine contributed to this report.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Linden plane crash critically injures flight instructor, student

• Flight instructor dies, student critically injured in Linden plane crash