Fighter jet jockey won't be grounded
By LIZ WILLIS - North Shore Times | Thursday, 05 February 2009
A crash at North Shore Aero Club has temporarily grounded Abbas Shahroodi’s fighter jet.
The brakes failed on his former Romanian Air Force L29 Delfin on Sunday and he "ran out of runway" and crashed into a fence, says Mr Shahroodi.
Mr Shahroodi, a Castor Bay resident, says he wasn’t injured and the damage to the jet’s nose gear is repairable.
He says his training to deal with emergency situations kicked in but admits he felt a "level of discomfort".
Mr Shahroodi says it had been a great day for flying and while something like brake failure was not unexpected it could happen.
Aircraft are one of the safest means of transport, says Mr Shahroodi.
The fact it was a jet involved in the accident meant it attracted a lot of public attention at the Dairy Flat airfield, he says.
Postmans Rd was closed for several hours while emergency services dealt with the accident. About 15 fire appliances attended. The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the crash.
Mr Shahroodi spoke to the North Shore Times in January about the thrill of fulfilling a dream to fly a fighter jet at 700kmh.
The speed thrill is greater than any sportscar, said the 49-year-old Gamma Computers director who emigrated from Iran 23 years ago.
"It’s like going downhill in a car when you have lost the brakes," said Mr Shahroodi.
"You cannot fly it slowly. It’s the highest level of aviation experience."
Mr Shahroodi owns two L29 Delfins, which gobble up $1600 worth of fuel an hour, because the Romanian Air Force only sold them in pairs.
This year he hopes to buy a Mig 23 or 29 and fly at two-and-a-half times the speed of sound.
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