PA31 Wheels up landing Darwin 2/5/19

[RatsoreA]

Anyone got any more on this one? I heard an Air Frontier PA31 closed both runways for some time last Thursday when the pilot became one of ‘those that have’...

[Brakerider]

Anyone got any more on this one? I heard an Air Frontier PA31 closed both runways for some time last Thursday when the pilot became one of ‘those that have’...

Word on the field is the pilot has an upcoming QF interview and wanted to guarantee success.

[Mumbai Merlin]

Reminds me of the flying instructor at GFS, Moorabbin, many years ago, landed with partial retracted gear on bosses C-90, leave the outfit and joins CASA as an FOI......

[CAVOK92]

Heard it might have been the chief pilot.

[machtuk]

That incident would knock your confidence about. What is probably more perturbing is that the incident closed both Rwy's, so I believe. The EMS operators who operate in and out of DN would be challenged if needing to land or take off urgently!
I recall a PA31 did a wheels up at YOLD, created chaos for a while!

[tio540]

ATSB initial report missing in action!

[Duck Pilot]

The incident occurred late Wednesday afternoon (1 May) according to ABC Darwin who were commenting about it the following morning on radio, no idea who the operator was and the aircraft type however a Qantas flight apparently had to divert to Tindal as a result of the runway being blocked for a while. Obviously flight diversions take more precedent these days in the media than operational incidents relating to aviation safety............

[Capn Bloggs]

What is probably more perturbing is that the incident closed both Rwy's, so I believe. The EMS operators who operate in and out of DN would be challenged if needing to land or take off urgently!
There's still 2200m-odd of main runway between Bravo and the eastern threshold. Shouldn't be too much of an issue for a bugsmasher?

[neville_nobody]

Word on the field is the pilot has an upcoming QF interview and wanted to guarantee success.

:D

However to guarantee success you would have to had inadvertently run out of fuel.

[RatsoreA]

VH-LJI, I heard? Any one confirm?

[Bend alot]

If it was a forgetful moment! it is not a very long or hard job to get it of the runway.

Top cowls off, sit 6 guys on the H stab, two fork lifts lifting of the engine eyelets or props (L/H & R/H) with a guy inside to pump down the gear. Tow it away.

- Had a C210 to get off a runway once. A pilot was getting his 210 endorsement (they do them at max weight) after the stalls and other required activities it was time to land. Normally the endorsements were just the pilot and a training or chief pilot of the company, then sand bags to get to MTW. But you could put people for the weight.

This flight had the pilot getting endorsed, the chief pilot (also the training pilot) 2 x DCA staff and 2 x ATC staff. Some very red faces!

PRH hardly hit the news, but that was not both runways.

[machtuk]

There's still 2200m-odd of main runway between Bravo and the eastern threshold. Shouldn't be too much of an issue for a bugsmasher?

once the Rwy is Notamed closed its ALL closed. No one in authority would want to take responsability for opening part of a Rwy, there's no perf data on what's left and it would open a minefield of legal hassles should someone stuff it up!

[Capt Fathom]

No one in authority would want to take responsability for opening part of a Rwy
It's done all the time. Called a displaced threshold. Darwin are experts at it!

[Capn Bloggs]

once the Rwy is Notamed closed its ALL closed. No one in authority would want to take responsability for opening part of a Rwy, there's no perf data on what's left and it would open a minefield of legal hassles should someone stuff it up!
Yes yes yes I was addressing your "urgently" situation. :rolleyes:

Wot Fathom said.