In depth article here:
A Pietermaritzburg man was noticeably calm as he spoke to The Witness yesterday after making a “bellyflop” landing at Oribi airport in his six-seater Piper Seneca aircraft when he flew in from his farm in Newcastle.
The drama, which had the Pietermartizburg Airport and emergency personnel on high alert yesterday afternoon, began when the plane’s wheel came off just after take off. Pilot Lawrence Hoatson who was alone in the plane, said the wheel was hanging by a hydraulic pipe.
“I knew from that point that whatever I did was going to cost money,” said Hoatson, who with more than 2 000 flying hours under his belt, said this was the first incident he has experienced.
“I was completely relaxed, never nervous,” he said. He sought the advice of radio control and his landing was declared an emergency as soon as he climbed out of Newcastle, which gave the ground crew at Pietermaritzburg time to prepare for his arrival.
He said the decision was made to put all the wheels away to prevent an uneven landing, which might cause one of the plane’s wings to dig into the ground and send it into a cartwheel. Although Hoatson said the attempt was made to “land the plane like a duck on water”, he added that it came down with “quite a thump” on the tar of the runway. “There isn’t too much damage though,” he said.
Hoatson said he followed procedure with the landing.
“I put away watches, pens and sharp implements, shut the engines off and opened the doors before landing,” he said.
He circled the airport until the fuel was on empty before putting the plane down.
His wife, Wendy Hoatson, who was watching anxiously at the airport, said she knew Hoatson has been flying for a long time and that he would be able to put the plane down in one piece.
“I was just a little worried about fire on landing,” she said.
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Published: 13 July 2006