![]() He also lied about needing to take insulin. Beginning in 2000, he repeatedly lied on FAA medical certification forms about suffering unexpected fainting spells, dizziness and seizures that sometimes sent him to the hospital. Rather than lose the career he loved, he hid his condition, according to court records. Diagnosed in 1984, the disease worsened and he became insulin-dependent in the early 1990s. He was also promoted by the company to lead pilot of Caribbean operations, court documents say.ĭuring his entire flying career, he was coping with diabetes. He was once named Employee of the Year at Cape Air. Still, she skidded the plane down safely on its belly on a grassy strip next to the runway.Ĭrews had been flying planes for different companies, including cargo and passenger airlines, for more than 10 years, federal pubic defender Oscar Cruz Jr. The Cessna's landing gear hadn't lowered. The Provincetown Airport was closed, and no one was on the ground to assist Oswalt. Two male passengers grabbed Crews' neck and arms, subduing the pilot, court papers said. Oswalt told the three businessmen on board that she was a student pilot and the only way they could land safely was to restrain Crews, who was incoherent, and fly to Provincetown Airport. She moved to the co-pilot's chair to help, but Crews pushed her aside, court papers said. She called Cape Air on her cell phone but lost the signal. One of the four others on board was Melanie Oswalt, a Cape Air security supervisor who, as a pilot-in-training, had just 48 hours of flying experience. When Crews passed Hyannis pointed toward the open ocean, the four panicked passengers asked him where he was going. Soon, the plane jerked side to side and up and down, according to court papers. 8, 2002, Crews, who was born in 1952, suffered a low blood-sugar episode in the middle of an evening flight from Martha's Vineyard to Hyannis.Ĭrews ignored a flashing red light and beeping alarm on board the twin-engine Cessna he was flying. He was indicted in the case in 2005 and pleaded guilty last year to four counts of making false statements to the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Christina Dilorio-Sterling, spokeswoman for U.S. District Court in Boston Thursday, Crews was sentenced to 16 months in prison and two years supervised release for lying to the government about the diabetes that caused his in-flight collapse, according to federal prosecutors. It was a close call - all four passengers thought they would die that day - and the incident apparently could have been prevented if Crews hadn't hid his diabetes from authorities. BOSTON - Six years ago, Ronald Crews was behind the controls of a Cape Air flight when he suffered a medical attack and a passenger was forced to land the plane.
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