Fore! 100-pound piece of plane landing gear crashes onto a Maine golf course miraculously not injuring anyone as the plane crash-landed safely in New York
- A piece of a plane’s landing gear fell onto the Gorham Country Club golf course Tuesday at around 6pm
- The Piper Navajo twin engine turned around and continued on to make a safe belly landing in Islip, New York
- Gorham Police recovered the 100-pound wheel from the seventh fairway of the golf course just outside Portland, Maine
- Miraculously no one was hurt on the golf course or on the plane
Miraculously, no one was injured Tuesday evening when a 100-pound piece of a plane’s landing gear fell from the sky onto a golf course outside of Portland, Maine.
The pilot was flying from New York to Portland International Jetport, but turned around and headed to MacArthur Airport on Long Island, New York for a crash landing when he learned of the missing equipment.
All five passengers on board the plane are okay. No one sustained any injuries.
Gorham Country Club golf course was notified that the piece of broken machinery was lost over their property by the Federal Aviation Administration.
A 100-pound piece of landing equipment fell from the sky on Tuesday evening in Maine
The piece of broken machinery landed on the seventh fairway of the Gorham Country Club
The pilot executed a safe crash landing in a Piper Navajo twin engine (pictured in stock image above) after turning around back to New York
Gorham Police Department recovered the strut with the wheel and tire from the seventh fairway of the Gorham Country Club golf course, sharing pictures on its Facebook page Wednesday:
‘Just when you thought you have seen everything, things really do fall from the sky. There were 2 miracles in this event.’
‘Number one, nobody was struck by this falling object when it fell on the 7th. fairway from the sky. Number 2, the plane was able to do a belly landing and landed safely in Islip New York. (MacArthur Airport–KISP) The plane was a Piper Navajo twin engine.’
The department received a call from the golf course at around 6pm, and a sergeant recovered the gear for the Federal Aviation Administration to inspect.
No one was playing near the seventh fairway when the piece fell but a group of ladies had finished their game at that part of the course thirty minutes before.
The Gorham Police Department retrieved the landing piece of the Piper Navajo twin engine
Michael Sweeney, an amateur golfer who has been playing the course since he was a child told NBC Boston that the hole at the seventh fairway is currently roped off.
He explained that planes from the Jetport often fly over the property, and the thought had crossed his mind before that something could happen, through he never imagined aviation equipment would actually fall onto the course.
‘I never really thought it would happen,’ he explained. ‘It’s just one of those crazy circumstances. Thankfully no one go hurt, no one was in the wrong place.’
An investigation into how the landing gear became unattached is being conducted by the FAA.