Lenox Recovers Jet The Aviation Hall of Fame (AHOF) received a 36 foot long, 12,500 lb. forward fuselage of a Convair 880 (N803TW) on Tuesday, August 7, 2007. It was transported from Atlantic City Airport by Lenox Corporation. Bill Lenox started working on this project with the AHOF in November 2006. The Convair 880 was sitting on a homemade trailer that was being moved around the Atlantic City Airport for over ten years. Now it was forced to be removed. Before the move, Bill consulted with the AHOF, Teterboro, the agents who owned the 880 and Mike Bent at AvPorts, AC Airport. On Monday, August 6, 2007, Lenox had to prepare the AHOF area so that the aircraft could be positioned. This required moving the Sikorsky HH-52A Sea Guardian helicopter and the single engine Lockheed Bush Master into the AHOF parking lot. At 7:30 a.m., Tuesday, August 7, 2007, Recovery Supervisor, Bill Lenox and his Recovery Tech, met with the crane/operator, double drop decked stretch trailer with driver and a certified escort service at a staging area at the Atlantic City Airport. Mike Bent of AvPorts AC, provided escort into the airport and to the location of the 880. Deciding upon a high lift technique, the 880 was harnessed with two 30-foot and four 20-foot straps. This method disperses the weight and strain on the plane as not to cause damage during lifting. Once the center of gravity was established, it was lifted, rotated, placed on the trailer and set at an angle for the lowest height possible for transportation. The aircraft was secured and departed AC Airport at about 11 a.m. A NJ State Certified escort coordinated the routing with the state as to which roads and at what times the 14’ 4” load could travel. The route included Rt. 30, Rt. 70, I-30, Rt. 1, I-287, I-80, exiting at Green Street, left onto North Street, right on Huyler, crossing Rt. 46 to Fred Wehran Drive. The Convair 880 fuselage arrived at the AHOF at about 3:30 p.m. and was partially positioned. That night, 2-3/4 inches of rain fell creating a muddy situation for the final move the next day. On Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at the AHOF, Lenox was set-up with a Recovery Supervisor and four Recovery Techs with 45 ton, 30 ton, 25 ton and 20 ton cranes to accommodate a four point lift. A fence was removed, the trailer was moved into the outside display area and winched into a spot between the four cranes so they could do a four point basket lift. They lifted the 880 about 20 feet high and removed the trailer. While in the air, the 880 was rotated mid-air into an upright position then lowered onto stands. The complete move was conducted with no damage to the aircraft. Bill Lenox and his father, James Jr., have been working with the airport since the 50’s. Earlier incidents included single engine aircraft flipping from wind storms, wind shear problems, etc. Because of their proximity and timely response, Lenox currently handles incidents that may occur at Teterboro Airport employing air cushion recovery systems, specialized dollies and hydraulic cranes. These include aircraft stuck in the mud, gear failure, flat tires, etc. Notably, Lenox handled a G4 that went off a runway 300 yards in December 2005. The Port Authority had to build a temporary road to get a 300-ton crane to the scene. During recovery efforts, Bill’s main issue is safety on the scene. He said that 90% of the time the aircraft is not damaged and his concern is not to create damage during recovery. During aircraft recovery, he communicates with the Port Authority, AvPorts, FBO’s, owners/agents, insurance companies, FAA, NTSB, HAZMAT, etc. Lenox Corporation is a third generation towing and recovery firm located in Hasbrouck Heights and Moonachie, New Jersey. Bill’s grandfather, James Lenox, started the business in 1912. Lenox is the third oldest towing firm in the nation. Bill said, “Dad was first on the NJ Turnpike northern section in the late 50’s.” Lenox does work for the State, Bergen County and nine municipalities, handling Rt. 80, Rt. 17, Rt. 46, Rt. 3 and Rt. 120. They handle everything from disabled autos to overloaded trailers that have rolled over on the highways. (NJ State legal limit is 80,000 pounds.) They have worked over 25,000 vehicle recoveries in the last 30 years. Lenox Corp. is a family operated business with Bill, Corry, Barbara, Darlene and Millie. They currently have 23 employees. Photos provided by Lenox Corp. ###

Thank you for visiting our hometown.  Come back soon!
[The Gazette Newspaper] [Contact Webmaster] [Policy Statement] [Advertising information]  
©Copyright 1998-2008. All rights reserved.
All photographs used in this web-site are copyrighted and property of the photographer.
Photographs used herein are on loan and are not public domain 
Site created and maintained by The Iron Horse Advertising & Marketing Co. Inc.
in collaboration with SAK Information Systems, LLC