Plane Makes Rough Landing at Ocean City Airport

By MADDY VITALE A plane landed at the Ocean City Municipal Airport on Saturday night, just not on the runway. At about 7 p.m., just as the 9/11 remembrance ceremony was ending at the Ocean City Fire Department headquarters, emergency vehicles headed to the airport at 26th Street and Bay Avenue for the accident. The plane came to rest nose down in a grassy area near the runway. Chunks of dirt and grass littered the pavement. A man believed to be the pilot gets out of the plane. The single-engine Rockwell Commander 112 is registered to a George M. Abdelmalek, of Staten Island, N.Y., according to records with the Federal Aviation Administration. A man was in the plane taking out luggage. He declined comment. No injuries were reported. Police officers were on scene. One officer was stationed in the airport parking lot to prevent onlookers from entering the runway area to see the plane. Another officer stayed with the plane and assisted the man as he pulled belongings out of the aircraft. Todd Dwyer, the airport manager, declined comment, but noted that the FAA would be responding to the scene. The plane is a Rockwell Commander.