Montgomery County Destination of Plane that Crashed Passes Inspection

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A visual inspection of the Montgomery County Airpark – including the paths for planes taking off and landing – earned a passing grade from the Maryland Aviation Administration.

The interim inspection was done Jan. 28.

The calls for review of airpark procedures follow the Dec. 8 plane crash that killed six people, including a Gaithersburg mother and her two young sons. Federal authorities have said a pilot’s mistakes likely led a twin-engine jet to stall as it flew from Chapel Hill, NC, to Maryland. The crash happened less than a mile from the Montgomery County Airpark.

A fuel-filled portion of the jet slammed into the home of Marie Gemmell, 36, and her sons, Cole, 3, and Devin, 1 ½ months. Rescuers later found the bodies of the mother and son, with Marie Gemmell evidently trying to protect her sons from the smoke and flames that enveloped their house.

The plane’s occupants who died were identified by Montgomery County Police as pilot Michael Rosenberg, 66; David Hartman, 52; and Chijioke Ogbuka, 31, all of Raleigh, NC.

Related stories:

• ‘The World Is Our Family Now’: Husband and Father of Plane Crash Victims
• Mom, Two Children Die When Plane Hits Their House
• ‘No Words Can Describe Our Loss:’ Gaithersburg Man

Montgomery Community Media quotes a letter from William Krozack, airport services manager for the Office of Regional Aviation Assistance to Montgomery Revenue Authority Executive Director Keith Miller, which says “the facility meets and/or exceeds compliance requirements as stipulated within the Code of Maryland Regulations 11.03.04.”

The MAA visit was a physical inspection of the airpark not a review of the operations there, Miller said. Inspectors looked at approach and take off maintenance ,examining both for obstructions such as trees or other overgrown foliage. The inspection also looked at airpark lights and training aids.

Miller has said previously he doesn’t believe there will be any changes to Airpark operations until the National Transportation Safety Board issues its final accident report, which could take a year.

A local group called the Concerned Citizens Alliance has been seeking tighter controls on who flies in and out of the airport and more safety precautions for a growing residential community that surrounds it. County Executive Isiah Leggett has called for a review of the airport’s operations by the Montgomery County Revenue Authority.

The airpark averaged a total of 60,000 take-offs or landings last year. At its busiest in 2001, the airpark logged more than 160,000 operations, Miller said.

The Montgomery County Airpark is a pilot controlled airpark meaning pilots communicate with one another on a radio frequency. In addition, all flights have to register with Potomac Consolidated TRACON, an air traffic control service.

“We have to look at what is really the cause of this accident. Was there something at the airpark that caused this horrific accident? Any fatality is tragic and when you have an accident like this let’s sit back and take a look and review and see if there are any changes that need to be made,” Miller told MyMCMedia.

The Montgomery County Airpark is owned and operated by the quasi-governmental Montgomery County Revenue Authority, which, in turn, is led by a six-member board of directors.

An online fundraiser via a GoFundMe account to help survivors Ken Gemmell and his daughter, Arabelle, had more than $494,000 raised by nearly 10,500 donors by Feb. 5.

»Investigators at the scene of a plane crash in Gaithersburg that killed six people. Credit: Pete Piringer/MCFRS Photos of Marie Gemmell and family from Facebook/GoFundMe site

See also:

• Passenger Identified in Plane Crash; Investigation Continues
• Mom, Two Children Die When Plane Hits Their House
• Death of Mom, Sons in Plane Crash Sends Shockwaves Through Community
• UPDATE: 6 Dead After Plane Crashes into Gaithersburg House: Reports
• Pilot in Gaithersburg Crash Had Similar Stall Problem in 2010 Plane Crash: Authorities
• Friends, Strangers Donate More Than $340K to Plane Crash Family