£1000 fine for pilot after concrete block crashes off plane
14.12.07
A pilot has been fined £1000 after he failed to untie a concrete block from his plane before take off from Newcastle Airport and it plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground. The block landed near schoolchildren attending a tennis club. Alan Gibson was fined for failing to carry out a pre-flight check correctly before taking off from the airport.
The 4 seater Piper Cherokee had taken off from Newcastle Airport at 09:20 on Wednesday May 9 this year. The concrete, which is used to anchor planes on runways and should have been untied before take-off, broke free from the aircraft. Around 50 children were at the Northumberland Tennis Club in Jesmond when the concrete block hurtled into the ground in the adjacent car park, hitting with such force that it finished about a foot below the surface.
Police were called and they contacted the Civil Aviation Authority, which investigates air safety. The CAA brought prosecution for a breach of the Air Navigation Order. A spokesman said: 'This was a very serious incident and that was the reason for prosecuting.'
Mr. Gibson, of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to the offence by letter. He was fined £1000 by magistrates at Gosforth, as well as £700 in costs.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book a newcastle airport hotel or newcastle airport car parking at the lowest price click on these links to newcastle airport car parking and newcastle airport hotel price comparison pages.
