- Light plane forced to make an emergency belly landing at Bankstown Airport
- The pilot was unable to engage the the landing gear despite multiple attempts
- The plane was forced to circle the airport dozens of items, in contact with ATC
- Pilot eventually made an emergency ‘belly’ landing, and escaped unharmed
- The incident is now being investigated by Australian Transport Safety Bureau
A light plane has made an emergency belly landing at Bankstown Airport in Sydney after its landing gear failed to deploy.
The Piper Chieftain freight-carrying plane was having problems with its landing gear and was forced to circle the airport for some time before landing on Wednesday night.
The pilot, who was the only person on board, was in constant contact with Air Transport Services personnel, who talked him through a ‘safe crash landing’.
The pilot of a small light plane is safe after an emergency belly landing at Bankstown Airport
The plane circled the airport dozens of times as the pilot attempted to the engage landing gear
He was was able to get himself out of the aircraft and was checked at the scene my paramedics, and was pronounced to be unharmed after dramatically skidding to a halt at around 8pm.
Bankstown aerodrome as then closed down due to an ‘aerodrome emergency’, according to communications obtained by 9NEWS.
The pilot told air traffic control that he had ‘done everything he can’, but was unable to engage his landing gear.
It is speculated that he flew in circles so many times because we has trying to shift out his landing gear before ultimately resorting to an emergency belly landing.
Officials will investigate whether the incident was due to pilot error or a mechanical problem, a spokesman for Civil Aviation Safety Authority said on Thursday.
The plane was owned by the Waga Air Centre, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been tasked with investigating the incident.
Paramedics attended the scene of an emergency belly landing, but the pilot was uninjured