Bedford Minuteman
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Concord plane crash kills N.Y. couple

By Maureen O'Connell / Staff Writer

An Oswego County, N.Y., physician and his wife were killed Saturday morning when their plane crashed into the side of Punkatasset Hill, near Bateman's Pond, on its way to Hanscom Field.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were still investigating at the disaster scene earlier this week to determine what caused the accident that killed Dr. Ravindra F. Shah, 64, and his wife, Dr. Manjula Parikh-Shah, 65, of Minetto, N.Y. Officials said Saturday it appeared the couple was killed instantly as the plane crashed into the heavily-wooded area.

The plane was reportedly making an instrument-guided approach to Hanscom Field after taking off from Oswego County Airport in Volney, N.Y. The couple was heading to Boston to attend a wedding.

"At 11:20 a.m. the Hanscom tower reported a plane had crashed in the Estabrook Woods," said Lt. Barry Neal of the Concord Police Department. "One minute later, we got a 911 call from a jogger who reported a plane had crashed."

The crash site is approximately two miles from Monument Street, and three miles from Hanscom Field. There are no residences for at least one mile.

Neal said rescue crews quickly conducted a thorough search of the town conservation area, and determined the couple to be the only ones aboard the Cessna 182, single engine four-seater.

A debris field of about 50 yards by 25 yards could be seen at the crash site Saturday. The biggest single piece of the wreckage was the engine block. An upside down wheel strut protruded from what was left of the fuselage. Some trees in the area were snapped, but Neal said there was no evidence of fire.

Because of the remote location of the crash, Acting Fire Chief Mark Cotreau said accessing the site was difficult. The heavily-wooded area made accessing the crash site possible only by ATVs or on foot.

"This is going to be a very difficult recovery," said Cotreau on Saturday. "There's very little access to this area, and there's a very rough terrain."

Still, Cotreau said, rescuers were able to get to the crash site quickly.

Concord Fire Department crews received assistance from Bedford, Lincoln and Westford firefighters. Lincoln and Westford fire departments provided the ATVs.

At the time of the crash, Neal said early morning fog was starting to break and sun was shining. It is unknown if weather was a factor in the crash.

Ravindra Shah was a retired New York Air National Guard brigadier general who practiced urology at Oswego Hospital. According to the Palladium Times of Oswego, Shah was an experienced and decorated pilot who had flown more than a dozen types of aircraft and was a former state air surgeon who had been responsible for medical recruiting and promoting air safety with the New York National Guard.

He had been a member of the Oswego Hospital medical staff for about 33 years. He also had a private practice in Fulton, N.Y. and taught at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Palladium Times said Shah volunteered in October 2001 as a Joint Task Force surgeon and chief of medical operation for recovery efforts at Ground Zero.

His wife was a retired anesthesiologist who had worked on staff at the A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital in Fulton, the Palladium Times reported.

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