The Griffin: volume 55, issue 02 - Sept. 21, 1984

              Lt. Walter Conboy and Officer Richard Miller of the Canisius public safety department were first on the scene of the 3:48 a.m. mishap and witnessed the plane flying over the intersection of Main and East Delevan. sations between the control tower and Murray are central to the investigation and will not be released until the probe has been concluded. The wreckage of a twin-engine airplane lies in front of the Bagen Administration Building after it crashlanded on the Canisius campus at approximately 4 a.m. last Saturday. ph<,i„ by bob hostetter © Copyright 1984 The Griffin. All Rights Reserved. By 9:40 a.m., NTSB officials arrived on the scene from Washington, D.C. to begin On its descent, the aircraft struck a power pole at the intersection of Main and Jefferson Ave. It then swerved to the right onto Canisius property to avoid hitting a van and an auto heading southbound on Main. A woman driving the car was treated and released at Sisters Hospital for shock, but hospital officials declined to reveal even her identity when contacted by The Griffin. "We found the plane's battery on the grass in the morning," said Samuel G. Puma, Canisius public safety director. "It cracked on impact, but we won't know why it failed until the investigation is completed." Lt. Conboy said there was no smell of gasoline and that the pilot said nothing except "I just lost all power." Conboy then radioed to a clerk in the Public Safety Office, who subsequently notified 911. "We were patrolling the Koessler Center when I noticed a plane gliding by," Lt. Conboy said. "It just made a 'whoosh' noise. I said to Dick 'that was a plane that just flew about 30 feet over our head." He was looking down at his log sheet and never even noticed it. We headed down Main St., heard a loud crash and saw it against the side of Bagen" "You always expect something at Main and Jefferson," he said. "But, something like that is just too unbelievable to even imagine. I hope I don't have to deal with that type of thing again." Lt. Conboy, weary from a barrage of interviews with local media, perhaps best,summarized the attitude of the Canisius security staff. "We would have just responded professionally and hoped everything worked out well considering the situation. I'm glad it didn't come to that, and I hope I do not ever have to deal with a situation like that." "We had 450 people at our mixer here that night," said Mr. Puma. "In addition, Mt. St. Joe's had a dance going on. Both events ended at 1 a.m., so you can imagine all the people and cars on Main St. just three hours before that plane came down. The timing of the crash was perilously close to causing a major disaster, one Canisius personnel were prepared to handle if necessary. Contrary to initial reports, DiMaria said the investigation should take only two months. 'The aircraft is small, so we will be able to get things done quickly," he said. "He is one helluva pilot," said an unidentified observer at the scene. "He brought that plane in and knew he was going to land short of the building." The man indicated he flew squadron jets in the Vietnam War and was familiar with most types of airplanes. Murray reportedly radioed into the tower that he was running low on fuel 15 miles from the point where he landed. Mr. Puma said tho the landing on Main St. was a last resort. preliminary work for the investigation. by Mike Harrington Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are continuing what is expected to be a lengthy investigation into the crash of a twin engine plane on the Canisius campus early last Saturday morning. The plane was bound from Muskegean, Mich, to Syracuse when it apparently ran out of gas "We will check every portion of that plane, disregarding the theory that the pilot lost power and ran out of gas," Mr. DiMaria said. According to Thomas DiMaria, fire public safety coordinator for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) at the Buffalo airport, the wreckage of the plane has been sent to Syracuse where the investigation will take place. DiMaria added that the conver- Murray was taken to the Erie County Medical Center where he is still listed in fair condition with two broken legs, a concussion and internal injuries. and lost all power. The pilot, 51-year-old James D. Murray Jr. of Clay, N.Y., tried to land the plane on Main St. but swerved to avoid two oncoming vehicles and crashed on the campus, stopping about two feet shy of the Bagen Administration Building. State Dep't Advisor Speaks on Latin America Colonel Tracy went on to discuss the problems the Soviet Union is causing. One of the roots of the problem, said Tracy, was the internal fears of the Soviet military. He went into great detail by explaining the situation with China. Although China is Communist, it has relations with the United States. Thus, the U.S.S. R. is forced Iconl d on page 8) country has a lot at stake in the Panama Canal Zone because much of the country's oil passes through here as well. Unfortunately, however, the U.S. has been paying too much attention to Europe and Asia, and not giving enough attention to Central America. As Tracy said, it is like a "political myopia" by past U.S. administrations. The only exceptions to this rule were the Good Neighbor Policy instituted by Franklin D. Roosevent and the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Col. Larry Tracy, military advisor to the State Department for Latin American affairs, told a Fireside Lounge audience Tuesday evening that the United States has had a "political myopia" regarding Central America. /%,«> m tom uoi.f According to Tracy, President Carter did the right thing in signing the Panama Canal Treaty during his presidency. It was like a goodwill gesture. As President Teddy Roosevelt was once quoted as saying, "We stole Panama from Colombia fair and square." Now the United States is giving it back. The Canal is getting busier all the time. Right now, two out of every three ships that pass through the canal are either coming from or going to the United States. This the controversial issue of Central America and its importance to the Soviet Union and the United States. The U.S. is geographically very close to this troubled region. From Florida, it is only two hours by plane. Our relationship with Latin America is clouded by our past. The people there really do not dislike Americans as much or to as great an extent as we are led to believe. His one-hour lecture delved into Colonel Tracy earned his B.A. from St. Joseph's of Philadelphia, a fellow Jesuit institution, and went on to get his Master's degree at Georgetown. While studying at Georgetown, he had Jeanne Kirkpatrick, the current ambassador to the United Nations, as one of his professors. Since 1980, he has held a series of positions in government, leading up to his current position at the State Department/Pentagon.Col. Larry Tracy, military advisor to the State Department for Latin American Affairs, as well as a coordinator between the State Department and the Pentagon on the same subject, spoke in the Fireside Lounge on Tuesday evening. The lecture was sponsored by the International Affairs Society and the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). by Mani Chidambaram ' "OVER A HALF CENTURY IN PRINT" Friday, September 21, 1984 Seiz ing The College And Community VOLUME LV, NUMBER 2 Probe Into Crash Continues THF C.R TFFTN X X AM J v/IVxl X xi t