Westmoreland Flying Club Members Lament Loss of Plane, Hangar in Strong Storms
The Cessna four-seater airplane Chestnut Ridge Flying Club bought eight months ago was totaled early Wednesday as strong storms swept across the region, said group secretary Rick Indovina.
He and a few other club members took photos of their damaged 1976 Cessna 172 that was stored inside their hangar at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.
“It’s just tough,” Indovina said. “We put a lot of money into it, a lot of upgrades.”
The club’s hangar was destroyed and the debris lay just inside a fence at the airport along Route 981. A second hangar, owned by the airport, was destroyed when it lifted off the ground. A plane inside that hangar had minor damage, said Gabe Monzo, director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority.
Emergency crews pulled the plane and debris, which were swept about 50 feet, from the road back onto airport property. Wind gusts of about 75 mph were recorded at Pittsburgh International Airport shortly after 1 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. It was the strongest wind measurement ever recorded at the airport, the weather service said.
The storms caused downed trees and power lines across the region. A confirmed tornado touched down near Tarentum, according to the service.
Indovina said the club, which has about 15 members, has insurance on both the plane and the hangar. He valued the aircraft at about $65,000.
Club members share ownership and take turns flying it.
“We fly all year round, but this is the time now, springtime, we fly a lot,” Indovina said.
Neighbor Renee Stallings said the storm woke her family and they checked outside. They were worried about large trees behind their home, but instead found firefighters and the debris.
“We looked out there and said ‘oh my gosh,’ ” she said. “We’ve lived here for over 20 years and it’s just the first time anything like that has happened.”
Airport personnel and first responders came to check on them. Stallings said she was glad no one was hurt.
“Things like that are replaceable,” she said.
The airport remains open, but commercial flights through Spirit Airlines were slated to stop Wednesday. That will remain in effect until at least May 4 as a result of reduced travel because of the coronavirus pandemic. The airport remains open for private aviation and charter service.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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