A ‘calm’ pilot has detailed how he managed to safely land a plane with a damaged landing gear after circling a regional airport for almost four hours.
In cloudy and rainy conditions, the plane made a forced landing at Newcastle Airport in the Hunter region of New South Wales at around 12:20pm on Monday.
Footage of the landing showed the plane skidding on the underside of the fuselage, as fire trucks rushed toward the plane once it came to a stop.
Speaking just over an hour after landing, New South Wales Police Superintendent Wayne Humphrey said Peter Schott, the 53-year-old Queensland man who was at the controls, was calm, collected and handled the situation. to perfection.
“He did a textbook wheels-up landing, which I was very happy to see… it was a great result.” “Very well done to the pilot,” Superintendent Humphrey said, adding that the pilot sounded calm on the radio.
Neither the pilot nor passenger Michael Reynolds, 60, nor his wife, 65, were injured.
Schott detailed the maneuver shortly after the emergency landing.
The Beech Super King Air plane was in the air for hours, burning fuel, and headed out to sea after flying over Newcastle Airport and RAAF base Williamtown (pictured, the plane’s flight path).
Pilot Peter Schott (pictured) successfully landed without landing gear at Newcastle Airport
“It was about minimizing risk, so I had a figure in the back of my mind of how much fuel I wanted on board for the lowest risk and I just circled around until I got that figure,” he told Nine News on the track. .
‘It was pretty textbook.
“I learned to fly before knowing how to drive a car, when I was 15 years old.”
When asked what he would do after landing, Schott said he might “have some wine.”
Mr Reynolds had nothing but praise for Mr Schott’s conduct.
“He did a wonderful job, it was amazing,” he said.
‘(He) remained calm the entire time. Yes, I have to give it to him.’
Schott works with the Royal Flying Doctor Service as an instructor and said he would have taught aspiring pilots the same landing technique “probably about… 200 times”.
The couple jumped off the plane and headed home after being checked by emergency services, Superintendent Humphrey said.
Passenger Michael Reynolds and his wife (pictured together) praised their pilot for doing “a wonderful job.”
The plane (pictured) landed intact at Newcastle Airport after its landing gear reportedly failed.
After taking off from the airport about 8.30am, the pilot realized there was a landing gear fault and remained flying around the area waiting for the problem to be resolved, Superintendent Humphrey said.
When the gear did not cooperate, the pilot flew to burn fuel and landed the plane upside down.
‘It’s a mechanical failure. Nothing unusual,” Superintendent Humphrey said.
The runway would be closed for 24 hours, or until the plane was removed, he said.
Early indications indicated that there was only superficial damage to the runway, but the air force would continue to check the matter.
The commercial airport shares land with RAAF Base Williamtown. The RAAF controls the terrain.
Registered Eastern Air Services flight XDV was scheduled to fly a 26-minute flight from Newcastle to Port Macquarie.
But the plane circled for almost four hours.
A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said several teams had been sent to the airport.
A defense spokesman said the King Air civilian aircraft reported technical problems during the flight at around 10:40 a.m.
“The plane is currently burning fuel and will shortly attempt to land wheels up,” the spokesman said.
The plane (pictured) flew over Newcastle Airport after it was discovered its landing gear had failed.
Pilot Peter Schott (pictured) is a flight instructor and taught several pilots the maneuver he used at Newcastle.
FlightRadar24 lists the aircraft in question as a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air aircraft, which can carry 13 passengers, plus the pilot and one additional passenger in the cabin.
Eastern Air Services is a charter company based in Port Macquarie that flies to Lord Howe Island and offers scenic and charter flights.
Dozens of onlookers gathered at the airport and cheered, the Daily Mail reports, when the plane made a successful “wheels-up landing” at 12:19.