Click photo to enlarge
The pilot of a Cessna aircraft that made a crash-landing in
the grounds of Macleans College in Pakuranga, talks on his
phone after making the landing in Auckland. Credit:NZPA /
Wayne Drought.
A light aircraft pilot has been praised after a
successfully crash-landing his aeroplane in a southeast
Auckland reserve.
The aircraft, believed to be a Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair,
came down in Macleans Reserve, Bucklands Beach, 15km east of
downtown Auckland, about 2.45pm after losing engine power.
Fire Service northern communications centre shift manager
Jaron Phillips said the pilot, the sole person on board,
walked away from the emergency landing uninjured.
"He did a pretty good job. He basically belly-flopped it," Mr
Phillips told NZPA.
"There was some minor damage to the plane's propeller and
undercarriage but that's it." Police said the pilot chose the
Macleans Reserve, which backs onto Macleans College and is
next to the Eastern Beach area, because it was a sizeable
reserve.
Witnesses said the landing spot was not far from the ocean's
edge and about 100m from houses in the nearby suburb.
The pilot, who did not want to speak to reporters at the
scene, was taken from the reserve by police after packing up
some belongings from the aircraft.
