‘I could have killed my family:’ Pilot recalls moment his small plane crashed in Stow

Katie Brace
·2 min read
2

James Bauer is back home after recovering from a small plane crash with his family back in the summer.

It was the end of July when a neighborhood resident jumped into action when Bauer’s small Cessna airplane carrying, his brother and niece, crashed in a residential area near an airfield in Stow, nearly missing a home.

Bauer was piloting his plane home from Lake Placid, New York and attempting to land at Minuteman Airfield in Stow, where he kept it.

“When I was touching down, I was too fast. So instead of landing, I bounced instead of trying to save a bad landing. What you normally do is go around, I was too close to the end of the runway and couldn’t clear the trees,” said Bauer.

Bauer says he was either going to slam into a house or a tree. “A thousand thoughts go through your mind, you know. I want to avoid the house,” said Bauer.

He tells Boston 25 that he went for a tree knowing a head on impact would kill everyone in the plane, but he maneuvered the aircraft.

“Somehow I end up hitting it like this,” said Bauer as he demonstrated with his hands. “A lot of things went through my mind including I could have killed my family and that was big,” said Bauer.

A photo of the family just last month shows all three loved ones smiling together. His niece, Daniella recovered from a broken wrist and jaw while his brother, Bob, is still healing from a broken neck.

“I realized how much my family and friends care about me and that’s what I am grateful for,” said Bauer

Bauer says he back to a 100% after recovering in the ICU from 11 broken ribs, collapsed lungs and a back broken in four places.

Now, Bauer, who spent his career as a mechanic for Delta, tells Boston 25 he started flying small aircrafts after his wife passed from cancer during COVID-19.

Two and half months post-crash he is ready to take off again. “I take off and it is so relaxing, and you can go anywhere you want. the sky is not the limit the sky is your playground,” said Bauer.

Bauer recently piloted a small plane with a friend who is also an instructor and they practiced different landing scenarios.

Investigators declared the crash an accident.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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