British pilot (in Britain), survives forced mountain landing

Tomahawk pilot flying over a mountain range in North West
England/Wales survived a forced landing but had to be cut free from
wreckage. Sounds like he's a bit knocked about but he'll live.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/w...st/3056443.stm

Good coverage from the BBC. Got his aircraft make & model right (Piper
Tomahawk, not 'Piper Cessna' or the usual junk); no 'engine stall',
they call it 'engine failure' and best of all: "It is down to his
skill that he managed to land."

It's a Welsh mountain, so it's not all that big (highest peaks in that
area are at or below 3,500' MSL) and certainly flyable (by a properly
trained pilot of course) in a training-type aircraft. Just nowhere
around that's flat to land on.

It would appear he'd filed a flight plan as SAR services were
activated when he failed to show up. Britain is a lot smaller than the
US so their job is somewhat simpler; nowhere is anything like as
remote as some areas of the US. In any event he was lucky. Walkers die
up there as it gets very exposed.

Text:

Pilot survives mountain crash

A pilot has made a "remarkable" escape after his light aircraft
crashed in Snowdonia.
The Piper Tomahawk two-seater plane crashed on the Elidir Fawr
mountain above the Peris and Ogwen valleys just after 1500 BST on
Thursday.

Pilot Steve Lovatt - who had to be cut free from the wreckage of the
aircraft - is believed to have sustained some serious injuries but
they are not life-threatening.

Roger Jones of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team: "It's absolutely
remarkable that somebody can land an aircraft in Snowdonia and
survive."

Mr Lovatt will now be stretchered down the mountainside by hand to a
low cloud base at which point he will be picked up by an aircraft.

Reports suggest that had to make a forced landing and rescue teams are
now working to free him.

A major search got under way when the plane failed to turn up at
Caernarfon Airport after taking off from Nottingham this morning.

Chief Flying Instructor at Nottingham Airport, Richard Flanagan, said
the Nottingham-based pilot was experienced and had planned his journey
well.

"Exactly what happened we don't know," he said.

"The first reports are that a walker heard an engine stop so it sounds
like engine failure and he was forced to land.

"It is down to his skill that he managed to land."

Ogwen Valley Mountain rescue team had 10 people, supported by Raf
Valley 22 Squadron, searching a five mile radius of Bethesda.

Mountain walkers had reported hearing an aircraft followed by a loud
bang.

The privately owned plane took off with one person on board at 0915
BST from its base at Nottingham Airport on Thursday.

It made a routine navigation call to Liverpool Airport Control 20
minutes later but then lost contact.

Published: 2003/07/10 14:09:22 GMT

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