Now that doesn't happen every day
 

So here I am, middle of the NT, sitting in the office and willing the phone to ring 'cause it's been a few days since I've flown a charter. Eventually it does, but instead of delivering me a booking, I am treated to an encounter that was nothing less than astounding.

It's a pair of ultra light pilots who came into town for fuel and needed a lift back out to the airfield. No problem, it's happened before and I'm happy to oblige. I jump in the van and I'm met by two older gentlemen in front of the service station, and they hop in. One is carrying his fuel, the other has grass and dirt all over him and is looking a little flustered. Just happy to see some different faces, I pay it little attention and off we go.

Seconds into the drive, one of the pilots asks if I can drop him off at the police station so he can report his accident. Assuming he was refering to a car accident, I asked him what happened.
Now this is the atounding bit.
These two guys are inbound, and very mindful of the fact that the surrounding airspace is about to become restricted down to ground level, due to high speed jet traffic associated with Pitch Black exercises. They are also mindful of the fact that the strip is about 2 miles out of town, and assuming they didn't have a suitable mobile phone, were going to have to hike it back. I'm not sure what one had to do with the other, but it lead one of them to make a very poor decision, as it turned out.
Deciding the walk was too far, one of these guys ignored his mate, who had continued to the strip, and decided it would be a better idea to land on the road leading into town, and taxi his bird right up to the unleaded bowser!
If that decision wasn't bad enough, his choice of landing spot was. On a blind curve, on a piece of road frequently occupied by everything from 4WD's towing caravans to road trains, underneath power lines and in front of a police station. Now, Murphys law hadn't caught up with this bloke yet and he managed to set it down without killing himself or anyone else, and began the relatively simple task, absurd as it sounds, of taxing his aircraft to the local BP.
Alas, it was at this stage the laws of probability finally caught up with our intrepid pilot. Approaching a bridge over a dry creek, his left wing clipped a water level sign, skewering him to the left, into and over the guard rail of the bridge and down a 10 meter drop to the dry river bed below, where his aircraft finally came to rest, although now in two or three pieces. Thankfully he wasn't hurt.

Unbelieveable.

Now I know, there but for the grace of god go us all, but please, that one has got to take the cake. Perhaps an early nomination for the Darwinian awards...:confused: :confused: :confused:

Thats awesome, been a great year for the ultralights, every second week one goes down (unfortunatly). One under the harbour bridge too. But thats an awesome story:}

34 @ SYD

Photos?

What town?

Now we all are a bit curious now... the question is where???

bk.

Capt Claret

Check your pm's

Can I have something in my PMs too please. Sounds like a beauty!!

Taxiing seems to be the main problem with this type of exercise.

Over the years there have been quite a few similar efforts generally due to the field being some distance from the town. Looking through the ERSA it mainly seems to say don't TO or Land on the road although a predecessor did mention taxiing on the road to Wyndham?. This followed a nice shot in the crash comics involving the "Welcome to Wyndham" sign.

Thanks 34R :D

For bringing us this tale from the wacky world that is aviation.

34R Thanks,
This story made my day!
:D

hows this one sound then??
 

I heard onother story of a drifter pilot having an engine failure and landing in a paddock. Once on the ground he was able to restart his engine and decided to taxi along the road back to the airstrip as there was not enough room to get out of said field.:}
Well as would have it the local traffic cop saw this and of course stopped him. :{
He was then given a fine for driving an un-regisderd motor vehical with no indicators and no mirrors.
:*

210 Tied to 'Hitching Rail' in Winton - Early 60's

When I was training at AF in '63, heard a story about proud new 210 owner taxiing from Winton airport, into town, tieing it to the hitching rails they used to have outside the pub.

Don't remember anything about his fate, but it's not an unlikely story from those days.

happy days,

If you look REALLY hard at your local video rental store you might find a 1979 David Carradine movie called 'Cloud Dancer' - in which he plays an aerobatics pilots. No plot but some neat flying.

In one scene he lands a Pitts on a road, taxis in to a local diner and grabs a bite to eat :ok: :ok:

Did I mention the passenger was standing on the wing holding on REAL tight :rolleyes:

Sounds like Katherine or possibly Timber Creek?
Am I close?

Sheep

Sheep

From the original post. It can't be Katherine as the police station there is on a straight stretch of the Stuart Highway.

but CLARRIE

also from the original post:

so, where is it then? hmmmm?

G'day Voice,

Didn't Sheep suggest two possible locations? :}

Hello all
 

While I don't mean to speculate, either

But it did sound a lot like Timber Creek to me.

AD about two miles out, Cop shop at that end of town and near a bend with a small bridge very near by.

On the Highway between KN and TN so it would be just right for fuel for a pair of UA's.

And it is inside TN restricted airspace.

While I don't mean to take away from this story, I can also remember a similar tale from a few years ago where a C210 was forced to land at Timber Creek, due TN airspace activating. Unfortunatly this story ends in a much more tragic accident a few miles further down the road.



And I remember a movie with Burt Renolds in it, probably one of those Smokey and the Bandit ones, where he lands a Dectahlon (look a like) on the main road in a town to stop at the local shop for some coffee and donuts. Very impresive to look at, especialy with all those power lines in the shot.


Richo

Hmmmmmmm...

Saw said ultralights in YPTN overnight last week and know the two guys you are talking about! Funny this thread should appear cos the one guy (accent) was hitting me up for a cordless drill to tinker with his lil one cylinder engine as it was having a few hiccups.... Now dunno if this occurred before or after the encounter this thread is based on BUT their attempts at "Pilot Approved Maintenance" really made my day!!!

Obviously they never found the drill they wanted....

Theres 2.4 million and this guy was the strongest sperm!!!!!!!!