Having first heard about this on the news and seeing where and how the pilot landed it, my reaction is that they did a blxxdy good job. Looking at the close proximity of Gloucester Airport, I wouldn’t mind betting that this happened at a fairly low altitude which prevented a glide into a suitable field or possibly a turn back; take-off from runway 22?
Anyway, the fact that they put it down straddling the Arnco makes me believe that this person had thought this possible scenario out before and with the close proximity of all the buildings, it was probably a wise move. Going through training 50 years ago, an ex-WW2 instructor suggested that in idle moments, such as lying in the bath, that it would be sensible to occasionally run various scenarios through your head because if something happens at a low altitude, the less time spent in the “startle moment”, the better.
The armchair keyboard warriors immediately show their ignorance because actually landing astride the Arnco offers the best chance of survival in an otherwise dire situation. Faced with that situation where landing on a motorway or dual carriageway is the only alternative to certain death, in the heat of the moment what would you do? Land into the traffic, hoping everyone would see you and swerve away? Land with the traffic and hope to find a gap and that everyone behind you would slam on the brakes? Land on the hard shoulder (if there is one)? Or try and land right in the middle with the wheels astride the Arnco which would then have the added benefit of keeping it straight like a train on the track?
I know which one I’d try because it also has the added benefit of keeping the cockpit and cabin away from the traffic. Sure something that can’t get out of the way might hit the wing, but with a closing speed of perhaps 120mph, with something as small and as fragile as that light aeroplane, its going to rip the wing off rather than spin the whole aircraft around, or demolish it totally.
But all of this is all very good sitting in an armchair after the event. Faced with a low altitude engine failure with few options available, I firmly believe they made exactly the right decision and pulled it off amazingly well.
(Ex Military Fighter Pilot and Ex Civil Airlines Wide-bodied Captain, 17000hrs)