Hero pilot safely belly lands crippled plane at Newcastle airport
A tense four hours in the air for a crippled aircraft has ended with a textbook wheels up landing by the ‘hero’ pilot.
A hero pilot has pulled off a textbook wheels up landing to cheers and applause after four hours in the sky burning up fuel in a crippled light aircraft.
The Beech B200 Super King Air operated by Eastern Air Services had taken off from Newcastle on a short flight to Port Macquarie about 8.30am on Monday.
Three people were onboard including the 53-year-old pilot from Queensland, and a man and woman in their 60s from Tuggeranong in the ACT.
Soon after take off the pilot became aware there was an issue with the landing gear and opted to remain close to Newcastle Airport while he tried to resolve the problem.
When he realised the wheels were not going to come down, he made the decision to burn up fuel before attempting a belly landing.
With the aircraft scheduled to fly another five sectors on Monday, the fuel tank was full, resulting in a tense four hours of flying over Newcastle and Fingal Bay.
Superintendent Wayne Humphrey of NSW Police said he was at an aviation safety meeting when the call came through about the developing emergency.
“The irony of that isn’t lost on us,” said Supt Humphrey.
“After some hours of burning sufficient fuel, the aircraft made a text book wheels up landing which I was very happy to see.”
He said the pilot could be heard on the radio and “he sounded very calm” ahead of the belly landing.
“Everyone got out of the plane themselves, so there wasn’t a lot of need for our help,” said Supt Humphrey of the assembled emergency services.
“They were checked over (by paramedics) and then jumped in their car and drove home.”
There were cheers and applause from police and other onlookers when the Super King Air touched down in a flawless manouvre.
“Of course we clapped, we were very happy,” said Supt Humphrey.
Eastern Air Services group safety manager Shane Moore said the incident was now a matter for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
“The pilot did an amazing job,” said Mr Moore. “Everyone walked away safely.”
An ATSB spokesman said the bureau was currently gathering further information including reports from the pilot and operator.
A decision would be made in coming days whether a formal investigation was warranted.
Late Monday, preparations were being made to remove the aircraft from the runway of Newcastle Airport which doubles as the Williamtown Royal Australian Air Force base.
Supt Humphrey said the airport would stay closed for 24 hours while the aircraft was cleared, and the tarmac checked for damage.
“I’m led to believe if there was any damage to the runway it’d be superficial but that will be a matter for the air force to work through,” Supt Humphrey said.
The aircraft registered VH-XDV briefly became the most watched flight in the world on the flightradar24 website on Monday, with more than 27,000 people tracking its progress.
After several hours of circling the King Air headed towards the water before returning to Newcastle Airport in its final approach about 12.18pm.
A statement issued by the airport said they were “incredibly relieved the aircraft landed safely”.
“We are investigating options to recover the aircraft and reopen the airfield as soon as possible,” said the airport’s statement.
“Passengers are encouraged to speak to their airline directly if they have any questions.”
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