Bar Shaker, I agree partly with what you are saying. Yes, for a microlight pilot a short field landing is more of a possibility than for a pilot in a PA28. And yes rightly so they practise them a great deal at the training stage, so they should be proficient, as A) a microlights' unpowered glide distance is greatly reduced compared to fixed wing aircraft. B) they have a small, single engine that (arguably) may be less reliable. Its true that to stop and check a fuel pump is not a big deal. However I have two points that I would like to possibly mention. First if a fuel pump is no big deal, then why did they stop to check it??? Secondly even if the discrepancy with the fuel pump contained no danger whatsoever, the forced landing is a dangerous procedure when not taking place as a practise on an airfield. Yes the pilot could have flown at 500' 300' and 100' to check the ground. But if my life depended on it I know I wouldn't enjoy trying to differentiate bricks and tree stumps from cow pats whilst doing 60kts. What would have happened if the pilot had struck a barbed wire fence which was not visible from the air, would you expect the controller to sit there and presume everything was ok til he read on the news that a microlight pilot had died of his injuries after 2 days??? If you think what I am saying is work of fiction try reading a few AAIB reports. see how many 'forced landings', for problems which are relatively minor, end up with the aircraft inverted and the pilot having to be dug out of the mud by either a passer by or the local policeman.
TS
