A de Havilland Devon has crash landed onto its belly today at RNZAF Base Ohakea after it had a problem lowering the undecarriage. It was carrying nine people on their way from Hamilton to Wellington on their way to the rugby sevens tournament. The plane diverted to Ohakea due to low cloud, but then couldn’t lower the undercarriage.
All nine men walked away unharmed, and an RNZAF official has commended the pilot’s handling in the emergency.
By: Propstrike - 11th February 2006 at 20:19
‘The pilot did a bloody good job’ (?) – I suppose for a passenger in mortal fear, who subsequently steps out of an aeroplane unscathed, that is a fair comment
The poor Devon looks quite ‘smiley’ in its bubble bath!
By: Newforest - 11th February 2006 at 15:39
Photo
SAFE AND SOUND: Firefighters spray the 1953 Devon plane with foam to prevent fuel catching fire after its dramatic crash-landing at Ohakea Air Force Base yesterday.
NZDF
Plane crash can’t stop sevens fans
04 February 2006
By STAFF REPORTERS
When a group of northern sevens fans leave Wellington after the city’s biggest party, they will add two words to their matching T-shirts: “I survived.”
They will have mighty reason to – the eight men and their pilot walked away without a scratch when their chartered 60-year-old Devon aircraft crash-landed at Ohakea Air Force Base yesterday morning.
“It was close. I don’t ever want to come any closer,” passenger Ian Barnsdale said.
“The weather was really bad, there was just no visibility,” Ian Barnsdale said. “We decided we would have to land somewhere. When we landed, we came in quickly and it just didn’t go that well.
“But the pilot did a bloody good job.”
Paul Jones, an experienced pilot on the 1953 Devon plane, said he had no idea he was about to crash-land as he came in to the runway.
The landing gear was down and there was nothing technically wrong. “It was just a precautionary landing and it didn’t work out for the best.”
Photo of the crash. Sorry for the delay, just got back from two weeks vacation, do you realize how long it takes to get through two weeks of past postings! 😀
By: Dave Homewood - 3rd February 2006 at 08:09
Yes, they had the plane and pilot on the news. The nose area is quite crumpled and nose wheel bent a bit. Pilot Paul Jones was interviewed by media afterwards.
I loved his remark, (this may not read as funnily as it was on camera)
Quote:
Jones, calmly, “Basically the weather deteriorated en route to Wanganui and I elected to divert the aircraft to Ohakea. Ohakea said I could land here, and there was a mishap on landing.”
Reporter: “What was the mishap?”
Jones, laughing, “I crashed the plane!”
Media guys all crack up!
Unquote.
Brilliant.
By: scrooge - 3rd February 2006 at 07:19
Later articles and close second hand info report the diversion to Ohakea due to weather followed by a downwind landing resulting in a skid and wing contact with the runway, the undercarriage then collapsed. Serious damage to the aircraft but no injuries thankfully.
By: Dave Homewood - 3rd February 2006 at 00:30
🙂
Luckily they were able to drive the rest of the way. One source says by car, one by van. You never know who to believe in the news today!
By: Smith - 3rd February 2006 at 00:25
Good to hear no one hurt Dave – but of course the big question is: “how’re they going to get to the Sevens?”
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February 3, 2006 at 12:06 am