Alleged Bird Strike Killed Proposed Marlboro Airport Buyer

The NTSB has asked for assistance from an US Air Force analysis team in helping to determine the cause of a suspicious 1998 airplane accident involving a man trying to purchase an airport later found to be at the heart of a New Jersey land-grab and bribery scheme.

The pilot, Lino A. Fasio, and passenger Eric S. Shibla were killed when Fasio's Piper Apache twin allegedly struck a bird at 1,700 feet AGL, according to the initial findings of an NTSB investigator. The impact damaged the plane's empennage, causing the aircraft to go down.

Recently, a story in the Asbury Park Press linked the now-defunct Marlboro Airport -- which Fasio had been attempting to purchase at the time he was killed -- to a landmark bribery scheme involving former Marlboro Mayor Matthew V. Scannapieco.

The June story also quoted five aviation accident experts, who maintain the damage to the 1958 Apache (file photo of type, below) was not consistent with a bird strike -- the indentation was too large, and no blood, fur, or feathers were found on or near the plane after it went down.

Investigators had speculated the bird would had to have been carrying another animal, such as a rabbit or groundhog, in order to cause such a large indentation in the plane's tail.

According to the Press, at the time of his death Fasio had been locked in a court battle over his $1 million contract to buy Marlboro Airport. He had pledged, if successful, to keep the airport open and not raze it for housing.

Local developers, as well as other pilots involved with the airport, had also been trying to purchase the field. Many of them reportedly disliked Fasio, who had something of a mysterious past.

Fasio had said he suspected someone had sabotaged both of his airplanes, and was trying to kill him. He had been relocating the Apache to another airport as a safety precaution when the Piper went down.

Land Developer Anthony Spalliero, along with other partners, obtained an interest in the airport, after Fasio's death. In April of this year, former Mayor Scannapieco admitted he took $100,000 from Spalliero in 2001 and 2002 to help change the zoning in and around Marlboro airport, so the land could be used for residential construction.

The US Attorney's Office charged Spalliero last October with paying the $100,000 and other bribes to Scannapieco. Spalliero has pleaded innocent to the charges.

In light of the recent scandal -- and in response to the Press story -- the NTSB has reopened its investigation into the crash, calling on the US Air Force bird strike analysis team for their help in determining if it was a bird that struck the Piper. The NTSB is also reportedly seeking help from Piper Aircraft, although the nature of the inquiry was not revealed.

Marlboro Airport closed in 2002. No homes have been built on the site, and the property remains unused.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov