Lucky escape for pilot as plane comes down
THE PILOT of a light aircraft who was forced to land in a field near Peterhead at the weekend says he owes his life to his training.
Banchory private pilot, John Wheeler, had taken off from Longside Airfield in his Vans RV6A homebuilt aircraft around 2.45pm on Saturday when he noticed his engine was running rough. A few minutes later he experienced what most pilots dread – a catastrophic engine failure.
Mr Wheeler, managing director of Aberdeen-based oil and gas firm Electro Flow Controls, was attending a barbeque and Fly-in organised by Buchan Aero Club which now run the facilities at the former CHC-Scotia helicopter base.
Mr Wheeler said the aeroplane bounced three of four times on landing before coming to a stop. The field is very undulating and not flat which makes landing more difficult.
"As in the case of many accidents, there's almost a feeling of time standing still," Mr Wheeler told the Buchan Observer.
"How I felt didn't register, it was just a case of reacting immediately. The engine began to seize and the propeller stopped in a space of about four or five seconds. It was a case of seeing a field and just going for it and hoping for the best.
"I tell you, my passenger and I both heaved a God almighty sigh of relief when we got out of the aeroplane."
A witness who saw the all-metal homebuilt aircraft shortly after take off said he saw "a brown mist" coming from the front of the two-seater plane. The cause of the accident is believed to be oil starvation causing the engine to fail.
Now, the pilot has praised other flyers and local people for their involvement.
Pilot Ken Short, editor of the Buchanie's sister paper the Fraserburgh Herald, had taken off with a passenger a few minutes earlier for a flight around Peterhead, heard Mr Wheeler's distress call on his aircraft radio equipment, cut short his flight and guided Grampian Fire and Rescue Service crews to the area where the aircraft came down by circling above the field. However, both Mr Wheeler and his passenger, Keith Boardman, a former chairman of the Scottish Aero Club, were uninjured.
Mr Short said: "I heard the pilot's emergency call and it was a bit of a shock, really as that does not happen too often especially when you're within shouting distance of the pilot in distress.
"It was a relief though to see the aeroplane and passenger appeared fine when I got there, so I relayed the information to Aberdeen Air Traffic control.
"You always hope for the best in situations like that and thankfully, it turned out fine. The outcome could have been much worse, though, given the field was surrounded by 200-foot National Grid power lines on two sides. You can replace an aeroplane, but you can't replace a human being."
Mr Wheeler (67), who took more than six years to build his aeroplane, said he's not fazed by the accident and is ready to fly again as soon as his aircraft is fixed in a few months.
He continued: "Flying has risks like any other sports, but in the course of my training I was taught how to cope with situations like this - there's no time to read the manual when that happens."
Members of Buchan Aero Club took more than 20 hours over two days to separate the aircraft's wings for its body to allow for transportation the three miles back to Longside airfield, removing hundreds of bolts and screws in the process.
Blackhills farmer, Norman Poots, loaned his tractor and low loader equipment for the recovery effort.
Mr Poots, who keeps a herd of milking cows in an adjacent field, said his herd was mostly appreciative of the unexpected visitors, saying: "Only one decided it didn't like what was happening and ran in the opposite direction."
Former Buchan Observer and P. Scrogie handyman, Jimmy Forbes donated his expertise to bring the disassembled aircraft back to the airfield. Jimmy was attending the Aero Club barbecue and decided to chip in his time to help the stranded airman.
Meanwhile, Mr Wheeler said he is grateful at the offers of help from members of the club and other well wishers. He said: "The response from Buchan Aero Club was superb. It was fantastic - even the local farmer got involved without question."
The local people who were involved in recovering the aircraft from the field included Peterhead pilot Alfie Thompson, Methlick helicopter pilot Jonathan Millbank, pilot Bruce Tibenham, Ellon pilot, Ken Short and Banchory pilot John Wheeler.
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Weather for Peterhead
Friday 18 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
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Temperature: 5 C to 8 C
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