Two people escape injury after light plane makes emergency landing at Bankstown Airport
Two people have walked away uninjured after a light plane made an emergency landing in Sydney’s southwest on Sunday afternoon.
Two people have walked away uninjured after a light plane made an emergency landing in Sydney’s southwest on Sunday afternoon.
The light plane, with a male pilot and a female passenger, was flying from Rutherford, in the Hunter Valley, and was due to make a landing at Bankstown Airport in southwest Sydney.
Fire and Rescue NSW confirmed the pilot of the light plane, a Cessna 210, had reported a “power issue” that required the plane to undergo an emergency landing. Emergency services were made aware of the incident at 1.53pm.
It is understood a news outlet’s helicopter, about to make a landing at Bankstown Airport, heard a mayday call from the pilot.
The plane was seen descending over nearby houses and trees before skidding to a halt on the Bankstown Airport taxi way.
The light aircraft halted at an angle with its right wing scrapping the asphalt upon stopping.
Both the man and woman exited from the plane before fire and emergency services could attend to them.
A NSW Ambulance Service spokesman said three paramedic crews were on the scene but only one patient was treated, with both the pilot and passenger uninjured in the landing.
It is understood the taxi way and airport runways were not impacted during the emergency landing.
Two Fire and Rescue NSW crews dealt with a small fuel leak on the plane but soon rendered the area safe.
In a statement, NSW police said at about 2pm, police crews were called to Bankstown Aerodrome, after reports that a light aircraft crashed.
“Officers attached to Bankstown Police Area Command established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash,” police said.
“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been notified and are conducting inquiries.”
An ATSB spokesman said the power loss and forced landing of a Cessna 210 on a taxi way at Bankstown Airport has been reported to it.
“The ATSB is gathering further information, including a report from the pilot, before making a decision on whether to investigate,” he said.
A spokesman from Aeria Management Group, the operators of Bankstown Airport, said they were working with NSW police and Fire and Rescue NSW who were at the site and were providing assistance in whatever way they could.
The incident comes days after a London-to-Singapore flight, which had 56 Australian passengers aboard, experienced severe turbulence, forcing the plane into a sudden plunge.
Forty-four passengers, including 12 Australians, remain in hospital after suffering potentially life-changing traumatic injuries including paralysis, skull and back trauma, and brain injuries.
Three Australians are in intensive care after the international flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
Two weeks ago, a pilot made a “textbook” emergency belly landing at Newcastle Airport in NSW.
The plane landed safely after experiencing malfunctioning landing gear. The plane circled the regional airport for almost four hours before landing.
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