Boston Globe
October 14, 2003

Pilot missed runway approach
Investigators eye Concord crash

By Associated Press

The pilot of a single-engine plane had been asked to follow the procedure for a missed runway approach shortly before he crashed into a heavily wooded area in Concord and died, investigators have determined. His wife was also killed.

According to a preliminary report filed by the National Transportation Safety Board, witnesses heard the plane applying power and saw it flying low near trees, away from Hanscom Field, just before the crash shortly after 11 a.m. on Sept. 27.

Dr. Ravindra F. Shah, 64, and Manjula Shah, 65, of Oswego, N.Y., were killed in the crash. Ravindra Shah, a retired New York Air National Guard brigadier general, was an experienced pilot; his wife was a retired anesthesiologist.

According to the report, no problems were reported on takeoff or during the flight from Oswego County Airport in Fulton, N.Y.

But the Cessna 182 dropped 1,300 feet in 40 seconds and was approaching Runway 11 below the recommended minimum altitude before the control tower at Hanscom asked the pilot to climb to 2,000 feet and follow the procedure for a missed approach.

At 11 a.m., the control tower told the pilot to ''check your altitude immediately.''

Two minutes later, the tower advised the pilot to climb to 2,000 feet, start a missed approach procedure, and contact Boston Approach Control.

Shah replied and repeated a radio frequency, after which no transmissions were received.

The plane turned left, to the northwest, started climbing, and turned left again before it disappeared from radar. It was last spotted on 11:02 a.m. at 1,600 feet, about 1,700 feet west of the accident site.

One witness, fishing in the Concord River, said he heard the plane applying power. A few seconds later, he saw the plane ''operating just above the tops of the trees, heading away from the airport.'' He said there was fog near the trees.

Another witness reported hearing the plane applying power, and described it as a ''real roar.''

A third person, who did not see the plane, said he ''could hear an airplane turning where airplanes don't normally turn.''

According to radar data from Boston Approach Control, the plane intercepted the glide slope for Runway 11 at 1,456 feet, below the minimum 1,700 foot level for approaching the runway.

Ravindra Shah was a former state air surgeon who had been responsible for medical recruiting and promoting flying safety with the New York Air National Guard.

This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 10/14/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
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