A PILOT and his passenger walked away unhurt after an emergency landing at Wellesbourne Airfield.
After feeling a jolt upon take off, the pilot – who is believed to be aircraft owner Roger Andrews from Warwick – discovered there was a problem with the landing gear in his two-seater Pioneer 300 aircraft.
It was later found to be corroded and contain a large crack.
The pilot had to head towards Wellesbourne airfield which is grass-covered and meant he could attempt a softer emergency landing.
He originally tried to activate landing gear which refused to lock into position but then stayed partially extended hampering landing even further.
Fuel and ignition systems were turned off as his touched down on the airfield and luckily both Roger – a former British Airways pilot – and his passenger made it out of the aircraft uninjured.
The Air Accidents Investigations Branch, who looked into the incident, said: “Examination of the landing gear identified a structural failure and corrosion on the fracture showed a crack had been progressing for some time.
“The pilot reported a ‘jolt’ during the takeoff from a farm strip and it is possible this was associated with the final failure.”
The Light Aircraft Association is now looking into maintenance and inspection requirements for the landing gear of the Pioneer aircrafts.
