A 73-YEAR-OLD Irishman managed to land a plane in Co. Wexford with one hand while holding onto his cockpit canopy after it opened mid-flight.
The unusual incident is described in an Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) report published after the crash landing at ILAS Airfield, Taghmon.
The report found the man, who was not named, escaped injury but his plane was “substantially” damaged following the accident on June 9.
It noted that the elderly pilot had carried out pre-flight checks, including a “canopy locked check” before a normal take-off shortly before midday, in good flying conditions.
After taking off as normal and passing 300ft (91m) in altitude, the canopy of the man’s cockpit unexpectedly opened.
He managed to pull the canopy closed but could not lock it shut, requiring him “to exert sustained manual pressure” while continuing to fly the plane with his left hand.
Then, while holding the canopy shut with his right hand, he climbed to 1,000ft (305m) and headed for Runway 18 at ILAS Airfield.
Before attempting to land, he completed a standard circuit of the airstrip “with only one hand available to operate the stick and throttle.”
The report added: “Control of the aircraft was difficult.”
Hard Landing
A loss in airspeed during the plane's final approach to the runway resulted in a hard landing which caused its left wheel to become detached from the undercarriage.
Around 7 meters after the aircraft first made contact with the tarmac, its propeller impacted the ground, breaking both propeller blades.
The plane then swivelled approximately 120 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction before coming to a halt.
The AAIU praised the pilot for the way in which he handled the challenging situation.
“Unexpected opening of a cockpit canopy in flight can result in the loss of an aircraft due to the ‘startle effect’ on the pilot and subsequent control difficulties,” said the report.
“In this case, the pilot demonstrated good flying skills maintaining steady flight and positioning for landing.”
The aircraft in question – EI-EWZ – was a Colibri MB2, single seat, sports aircraft, powered by one Volkswagen engine.
The all-wooden plane with fabric-covered wings was built by the amateur pilot using plans provided by Colibri and was first flown on July 26, 2012.
At the time of the accident the plane had an IAA Permit to Fly issued on February 1, 2017, which was valid until January 31, 2018.
