Wednesday, April 3, 2024
A plane has been forced to make an emergency landing through a shower of sparks at Gold Coast Airport after its landing gear failed during its approach.
The plane’s two pilots, described as “incredibly accomplished”, reported the landing gear issue about 8pm Tuesday.
The pilots kept the plane in the air roughly an hour, circling the airport and burning fuel, before eventually touching down without a landing gear.
Images from the landing show sparks flying across the runway as emergency crews looked on.
The plane, a Beechcraft 58 Baron, typically seats six.
Reporter Tamra Bow explained the incident on Wednesday morning from the scene.
“This was a plane that was owned by Air Gold Coast. A reputable aviation service that offers schooling to pilots. It’s been in operation for more than 56 years,” Bow said.
Gold Coast Air has been operating in the area for over 55 years and offers pilot training, charterts and maintenance services.
“Last night, it got into a lot of trouble,” Bow contuinued.
“We understand two very experienced pilots, no students were on board the light plane, had been circling in the air for a number of hours (burning) fuel.”
Queensland emergency services were on standby with a spokesperson confirming they were concerned about aircraft fuel during the incident.
“There is always a concern with these events that there is aircraft fuel that is obviously flammable,” the spokesman said.
“There were reports the pilots have elected to perform a dark landing whereby all the electrics in that aircraft are switched off just to mitigate the risk of obviously any flammable fuels being ignited.”
Bow said both pilots walked away unharmed, showcasing impressive skill.
“Those pilots, incredibly accomplished pilots, both walked away without a single scratch,” she said.
“(They were) assessed by paramedics.
“However, they didn’t even need to be transported to hospital.”
A Gold Coast Aiport spokes person confirmed a light aircraft experienced technical issues with its landing gear while approaching the Gold Coast Airport.
“The experienced pilots on board landed the aircraft safely with the landing gear retracted,” they said.
“There are no ongoing impacts to airport operations.”
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
