Three people on a plane in Australia just had a very close escape.
On Monday, May 13, a plane owned by Eastern Air Services (EAS) suffered a mid-air mechanical failure after takeoff from Newcastle, New South Wales, which prevented the pilot from opening the plane’s landing gear, ABC News reported.
The plane, which was originally flying to the city of Port Macquarie about 112 miles north, then had to make an emergency landing on the runway at Newcastle Airport north of Sydney.
Before that, the pilot spent three hours circling the runway to use up the plane’s fuel so he could land without wheels, NBC News and ABC News reported. The twin-turboprop Beechcraft Super King Air finally touched down at 12:20 p.m. local time, according to outlets.
PEOPLE has reached out to Eastern Air Services for comment.
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Speaking at a press conference, New South Wales Police Chief Wayne Humphrey revealed that the 53-year-old pilot and his passengers, a 60-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman, were unharmed in the incident and did not need to go to hospital, writes Sky News Australia .
“[There were] problems with the landing gear, as a result, the pilot — a 53-year-old man from Queensland — decided to stay in the vicinity of the airport until he could resolve the problem on the aircraft,” Humphrey explained. “As a result, he was determined that the landing gear of the aircraft was not going to return so he stayed here and used up the fuel.”
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A plane with a broken landing gear landed flawlessly at Newcastle Airport.
Sky News Australia/Youtube
“It landed like a textbook, which I was very happy to see,” Humphrey said, adding that there was a joint operation between the police, ambulance and fire service, Royal Air Force News South Wales.
The chief also said the pilot “sounded very calm” while in the air.
According to 9News, the plane will be returned, causing the airport to remain closed for about 24 hours. The release added that Eastern Air Services confirmed the incident would be investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
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