Man Airlifted Following Pequannock Plane Crash

A late morning plane crash near the Pequannock-Lincoln Park border yesterday has left a man seriously injured, according to Pequannock Township Police.

Lt. Dan Dooley said 61-year-old Leslie E. Gwyn-Williams, of Verona, was flying from Morristown Municipal Airport on Thursday to meet a friend at Lincoln Park Airport when his plane lost power and its engine.

Dooley’s single-engine Cessna 182P came down near Grow-Rite Greenhouse & Garden Center at 30 Hillview Rd. in Lincoln Park. The actual crash took place just across the boarder in Pequannock.

Dooley said Gwyn-Williams sustained multiple leg and head fractures, as well as facial and internal injuries. Dooley said Gwyn-Williams was conscious when police arrived on the scene and able to communicate, but that he was sedated because of the injuries. He was airlifted to Morristown Memorial Hospital via Atlantic Air One.

Dooley also said gas sprayed outside of the plane, as well as on Gwyn-Williams, but it did not catch fire.

A 911 call via cell phone came to the Pequannock Township Police Department at 11:33 a.m. alerting it of the crash. The department, as well as the Lincoln Park Fire Department and EMS, responded. Hazmat also responded due to the gas spill.

No other passengers were on the plane, and no one on the ground was injured. The plane clipped a couple of trees near the greenhouse on the way down.

The FAA had previously confirmed the crash, and that the plane belonged to Gwyn-Williams. The agency reported the plane as a Cessna 281.

Montville Editor Nate Adams and Associate Regional Editor Rick Burchfield contributed to this report.