A plume of smoke is pictured after a plane crashed Aug. 5 at the Chautauqua County Airport at Jamestown. The county is accepting $1.4 million from the county’s insurance carrier to pay for damage caused by the accident. Submitted file photo

Chautauqua County is getting a check from insurance for $1.4 million for repairs to the county’s airport in Jamestown following an accident this past summer.

During the legislature’s Public Facilities Committee meeting, Airports Manager Sharon Fischer was in attendance and discussed the accident that occurred Aug. 5.

On that date, a Cessna Citation X hangared at the Dunkirk airport sent out a Mayday distress signal after apparently losing its electric. It crashed at the Jamestown airport. Both the pilot and the co-pilot survived the crash. The pilot, later identified as Orchard Park businessman Gerald Buchheit, was seriously injured, while the co-pilot had minor injuries.

During the committee meeting, Fischer said when the plane left Dunkirk it had about 1,300 gallons of fuel. The plane caught on fire and had to make an emergency landing. Some of the plane’s fuel had contaminated the soil at the Jamestown airport. That soil had to be removed, which was about 1,300 cubic yards.

Some of the fuel spilled and burned into the pavement. That required that about 1,200 feet of the airport runway be rehabilitated. Fischer noted that some fuel actually went down an active drain, which caused it to spread far and wide. But in the end, they were able to get it cleaned up.

“The DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) was very happy with what we did,” she said.

The entire amount was covered through insurance. Fischer explained that the county’s insurance initially covers the costs, however they will be going after the pilot’s insurance for reimbursement. That could end up being settled through lawsuits.

Fischer noted that when there was an accident at the Jamestown airport in 2023, the county didn’t need to claim any insurance reimbursement. “It was off, in kind of a wooden area. There were no issues. This time we did (claim property damage),” she said.

A resolution to amend the airport’s budget to accept the funds was unanimously approved by the full legislature at its November meeting.

In other airport news, the legislature agreed to spend $28,085 on a new freezer at the airport restaurant. The restaurant is currently being leased by Basil & Bones. They are looking to open an additional location in the spring and requested the freezer be replaced, because the current one isn’t working.

The money will come from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, which was given to the county from the federal government following the COVID-19 pandemic. The request was unanimously approved.

There were three other resolutions that had to be amended in regards to the airport due to errors when they were originally approved. One was to accept funds to reconstruct the terminal building, one was to accept funds to rehabilitate the runway pavement and lighting project, and one was to accept funds for testing equipment at the airport.

Legislator Bob Scudder, R-Fredonia, voted against all three. He did not comment on his vote. He typically votes against any resolutions accepting money for the county airports if it means the county must continue to operate the airports.