I was hearing news of this while I was up today. The tower was letting pilots know that oshawa was closed. The Toronto Star has picked up the story which appears below:
Plane lands on floats at Oshawa airport
Pilot walks away unhurt after plane skids to a stop in a shower of sparks
Apr. 8, 2006. 06:51 PM
STAN JOSEY
STAFF REPORTER
Oshawa Municipal Airport was closed for several hours Saturday after a float plane skidded several hundred metres on its aluminum floats, after its landing wheels failed to deploy.
A shower of sparks and disintegrating metal spewed from the rear of the plane as it skidded to a stop on the airport’s main east-west runway, witnesses said.
“The wheels either didn’t come down or weren’t deployed before landing,” said one pilot waiting for the airport to re-open. Float planes that also land on solid ground are equipped with four small wheels that are either tucked into the pontoons and raised beside them when not in use.
The single engine plane came to rest in the middle of the runway with a trail of aluminum from the pontoons stretched out behind it.
The pilot, who flies out of the Oshawa airport, stepped out of the plane without injury and assisted airport staff at the scene.
Transport Canada has been called in to investigate the incident.
It would be interesting to read the Transport Canada report when its released.
