Plane crash aftermath

March 19--METHUEN -- On Friday, Jim Peyser and his wife, Diane Klein-Peyser, moved into the Residence Inn in Andover, their fourth temporary home since a small plane came crashing through the roof of their condominium building in Methuen on the last day of February.

The Residence Inn by Marriott Boston gives them a full kitchen and the space to bring more clothes and personal items over from their condo, which they haven't been able to stay in since the crash. It's an upgrade over the last place they stayed, but it's still not home.

"We've been uprooted and we're trying to get some semblance of being grounded somewhere, rather than have to think, 'Where am I going to be next week?' or 'How long is this going to go on for?'" Peyser said.

The answer to how long residents of Building 7 at the Prides Crossing condominium development are going to be displaced isn't a simple one. Two units of the building were heavily damaged when a small, home-built airplane flown by former Newburyport Mayor Alan Lavender crashed through the roof and lodged itself in the upper floor of the building. The crash killed Lavender, 73, but did not injure anyone else.

The crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Other units in the building at 1 Riverview Blvd. sustained water damage from firefighters' efforts following the crash. And others, like Peyser's, remain largely unscathed.

None of the nearly three-dozen residents across 12 units can be allowed to live in the building again until several repairs are completed, said Lou Gargiulo, owner of Great North Property Management, which manages Prides Crossing for the condo association.

"It's going to be a lengthy period of time because of the issues with the sprinkler system and the trusses, and the city is not going to allow occupancy until the trusses are replaced," Gargiulo said.

Trusses are part of the framework that supports the roof of the condo building. They have to be special-ordered and manufactured off-site, before being brought to the building and installed. That process could take eight weeks or more, Gargiulo said.

Once the roof is replaced, the building has to be heated before the sprinkler system can be replaced, another step that has to happen before residents can return home.

"It's a step-by-step process, and unfortunately it's going to take more time than anticipated," Gargiulo said.

Residents make do

Peyser and his wife, who lived one unit over from the two that were heavily damaged by the plane, will most likely get to return to their condo within two or three months, as it sustained no direct damage from the crash.

They stayed with a family member in Marlborough on the night of the crash before moving on to hotels. They just moved into the Residence Inn from the Holiday Inn in Salem, New Hampshire. Peyser's homeowner's insurance is covering the hotel stay, but the couple is still incurring other costs associated with being displaced from their home and the amenities within it, he said.

However, they had plenty of gratitude for the staff at both hotels, as well as the neighboring Margaritas restaurant that provided them meals and the friends, family and coworkers that have offered them assistance along the way, including Klein-Peyser's hair salon, Beau Monde Hairstylist in Salem.

Several residents of Building 7 are now staying at the Residence Inn, including William Moore, who lived in the bottom unit of the Prides Crossing building.

"They told me that my unit sustained the most damage because of all the water," he said. "My place is basically trashed."

Moore was informed it would be three to six months before he would be allowed back into his unit, though he was told to expect it to be closer to the latter. As he stays at the Residence Inn, he's also working on gathering receipts for everything that has to be replaced from his condo, including a bedroom set from 1997, hutches and a "nice table" purchased from Ethan Allen -- "higher-end type things" -- to give to his insurance company. He also lost "lots of collectibles" to the water damage.

Despite the ruin, Moore remained upbeat.

"I'm not too depressed about it. There's not really anything you can do about it," he said. "You've got to let them do their jobs, and unfortunately it all takes time."

Bettie Gattoni's condo unit was also damaged by water, and she was told it would be about six months before she would be able to resume living there. She's been staying with her sister, and her son has been flying in to visit, and she'll soon be going to stay with a friend in Florida.

"It's hard. You're living out of a suitcase," she said. "But they're coming along pretty well with the units. They've got all the walls torn down, the ceilings. They tore out my kitchen today."

Similar to what happened with Moore's condo, water seeped down into Gattoni's unit, causing damage to her kitchen, dining room, den and two bathrooms. While many things have to be ripped out and replaced, the watery mess at least spared most of her furniture, she said.

While Gattoni said she'd have to pick up the tab on a new refrigerator, the condo association was replacing the stove and dishwasher. She added that she was looking forward to getting to pick out new things for her kitchen.

But back at the Residence Inn on Friday, only 10 miles or so from her now-vacant home, Klein-Peyser was still processing her emotions about the whole ordeal.

She said it's awful the pilot was killed, and she's grateful that no one else was hurt. She feels badly for those who are expected to be displaced longer than she is and for those who lost more to damage. They're sentiments shared by other residents, who acknowledged that the building could have easily gone up in flames.

And as much as she wants to be home, Klein-Peyser wondered what it would be like mentally and emotionally to return to the building with memories of the crash still lingering.

"Every time I hear a plane go over the building now, I'm probably going to duck my head," she said.

Follow Lisa Kashinsky on Twitter @lisakash23.

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