Plane crash near NJ Appalachian Trail

[jjmcgo]

A private plane crashed Tuesday, July 5, near the Appalachian Trail in northern New Jersey. My wife and I were within five miles of this location on Monday and met a thru-hiker from Michigan late in the afternoon who was heading toward High Point State Park on Tuesday. He might have seen or heard some of this.
There are two crashes in this story. The one near the trail is the second one in the article.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NJ_PLANE_CRASHES_NJOL-?SITE=NJHAC&SECTION=HOME

 

[snowshoe]

I live about 15 minutes from the crash. I had off today and decided to head up there and look for it. It was prety easy to find, not much left. I still can not belive the pilot survived. The engine is still there as well as the propelars and some of the wings but the main body was melted. It made a nice path through the trees right over the AT. The plane sits very close to the trail. Just North of the AT intersection with Jacobs ladder trail. Does not look like they will move the plane out. It is not an easy area to get at. Will probably be a popular destination now, especialy now that the word is out.

Just a few weeks ago one went down in ther Hamburg mt Wildlife man area. That is about 20 minutes away from me. It tok over 5 days to find the plain and the pilot. That is the next one to find. Although it is in a tough spot, very hidden.

 

[jjmcgo]

Getting lost in NJ

That crash in Hamburg was amazing in that most people don't think you could search any part of New Jersey for five days and not find what you are looking for. One of the things that got me going up to that area was flying over it in winter and seeing how wild it looked from the air
The northwest corner of this state just doesn't fit the stereotype of "Joisey."
BTW, do you know anything about the shelters in Jenny Jump? Are they open on one side or do they have doors that close. I never saw a writeup of a shelter that mentioned a living room with fireplace but the website includes LRw/FP as a feature.

 

[Rick]

That crash in Hamburg was amazing in that most people don't think you could search any part of New Jersey for five days and not find what you are looking for. One of the things that got me going up to that area was flying over it in winter and seeing how wild it looked from the air
The northwest corner of this state just doesn't fit the stereotype of "Joisey." ....

That is exactly why my wife and I recently decided to move back to the area from Massachusetts. WE have decided that we really like that area of NJ and PA very much. What a great place!!!

 

[snowshoe]

Thats why I never never left the area. I was born a raised here and will be here until I retire or die. Which will be a long time from now. This part of jersey is great. You have everything you want. I could hike in the morning and see a broadway in NYC in the evening or hit the mall. There are hundreds of miles of trail within less than an hour from my house. If I want to hit some mountains I could be in the Catskill in less then 1.5 hours drive. We even get a decent amount of snow. Enough to be able to XC ski from Dec through March. Plus we have downhill skiing. There are a few goods rivers to kayak both white water and calm. Plus great secluded lakes as well as great backpacking. Most people never realized this.

Rick where in jersey are you going?

 

[Jay H]

Oh great, Shawn, you have now been marked for termination.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh..


Jay

 

[John Graham]

The wreck at Hamburg WMA has been removed by the FAA for further investigation. It was lifted out by helicopter.
The crash site is at N 41 8.010' W 74 32.338'. It is one kilometer north of the old Paterson Camp on the north west corner of Silver Lake. It is on the western corner of a swamp, at the 1,200 foot contour level, directly below the "H" on Hamburg on the USGS Hamburg Quad. The cloud ceiling that morning was below 1,000 feet, the highest point of Hamburg mountain is over 1,400 feet.

This plane came straight down, so there was no obvious damage to trees or a debris field. The transponder was destroyed, so the only real clue the searchers had was a radar track from the Air Force. Numerous false sightings and erroneous transponder signals kept drawing searchers away from the area of the last radar track. Eventually ground searchers found a wheel cowling and wing light, and this led a helo to the area to search at treetop level. He spotted a glint of the wreakage through the canopy. The ground team was directed to the sighting area and the plane was located. It was obvious that the pilot did not survive the impact.

 

[snowshoe]

I am suprised they took the plane out considering its location. I have bushwhacked through that area many times. I know exactley where that spot lies. It is not easy to get too. Although there is a woods rd not too far from the spot. Thanks for the info