Airport staff praised for reaction to crash

ALBANY — The newly elected chairman of the Albany-Dougherty Aviation Commission praised members of the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport’s safety staff for their quick reaction to a tragic crash at the airport Jan. 31 that left three people dead.

Prior to a briefing on the crash by Airport Public Safety Chief Bernard Ford, Dr. Frank Middleton said the airport staff reacted “appropriately and professionally” to the tragedy.

“That was a serious tragedy, but I want to commend our safety team for their response,” Middleton said. “In a horrific situation, they responded appropriately and professionally. I wanted to publicly commend them for doing their job well in extreme circumstances.”

Ford said the crash was the first at the airport since 1989.

“The safety office got the call at 2:47 (p.m.), and our people were on the scene in less than two minutes,” Ford said. “We worked to extinguish the flames from the crash and contacted outside emergency personnel. EMTs and Albany Police Department personnel responded quickly. APD secured the gates, not letting anyone in, and we made contact with family members.

“The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) was contacted, and while they told us they would not come to inspect the crash until the next day, they gave us permission to remove the bodies from the site.”

Ford said the incident is still under investigation.

“NTSB personnel were on the site for two or three days, and after they finished their initial investigation they removed the remainder of the aircraft,” the airport public safety chief continued. “Our team went through a debriefing with counselors, and the airport remained shut down until we were cleared to reopen, at 10 o’clock that night (Feb. 1).”

Asked if there was a recording of communications between the airport and the airplane’s crew, Ford said there was, but he did not comment on the recording.