Mattiello
UNION VALE – Civil Air Patrol Lt. Col. Lawrence Mattiello was at
Sky Acres Airport last Sunday when a single-engine plane came in for a
landing and overturned in a small pond near the runway.
Reflecting about the incident on Wednesday, he said the engine stalled
and the plane flipped over. While he feared the worst as he ran to the
crash site, he saw the wing was above the water and the four occupants
were getting out onto it.
He directed them to climb over the belly of the aircraft where he assisted
them to land.
The French teen with a head wound, Louis Farcot-Lafond, 16, of Paris,
was the first to exit the plane followed by the Lynne Maloney, 52, the
mother of the 17-year-old pilot, Christopher Maloney. His dad, Michael
Maloney, 52, was last to climb out. The family lives in Cohoes.
Once everyone was out, Mattiello removed the personal effects from inside
the plane and he reviewed the cockpit with the fire-rescue team that responded
as he is a pilot.
Mattiello credits his quick action to the training he received with the
Civil Air Patrol.
