Coventry pilot 'mistook road for runway'
11.02.07
A pilot who took off from Coventry Airport landed on a public road after mistaking it for a runway - and only noticed his error when he hit a speed bump. The 68-year-old pilot thought he had found a Herefordshire landing strip despite noticing 'a kerb to the side and lamp posts to his left', a report into the accident said.
The pilot, who has not been named, was very experienced with more than 1,000 hours in the air. However, he had flown for just 4 hours in the 3 months prior to the accident, near Leominster on August 24 last year. He had also only landed at the Shobdon Aerodrome - the site of the mishap - 3 times before.
The accident happened during a solo flight from Coventry Airport, the monthly bulletin from the Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) reports. It adds: 'When close to touchdown, the pilot noticed that the airfield was different from what he remembered. Shortly after touching down, the aircraft ran over a speed bump which caused it to veer left and leave the road.'
The plane's left wing hit a tree and its right wing was almost entirely sheared off after hitting a lamppost. Bewildered, the pilot managed to escape from the wreck unscathed. Fortunately the road was free of traffic as it had only just been built.
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