A Beechcraft plane carrying three people was able to land safely without landing gear at Newcastle International Airport (NCL) in New South Wales, Australia.
The incident occurred on May 13, 2024.
The twin-turboprop Beechcraft B200 Super King Air had just taken off from Newcastle airport at 09:30 local time, en route to Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) when the pilot reported the landing gear failure.
The plane had to circle the airport for three hours to burn off fuel that was meant to fly the 180-kilometer journey.
Video footage uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) shows the aircraft eventually making a smooth belly landing.
All three people onboard walked away without any injuries. The pilot, identified as Peter Schott, has been hailed by local media as a “hero” for carrying out the safe landing.
Speaking to local media 9News, Schott said that it was quite a “textbook landing”.
“It was all about minimizing risk, so I had a figure in the back of my mind of how much fuel I wanted on-board for the least risk and I just circled until I got that figure,” Schott said, adding that he had learned how to fly before he could drive.
A police statement seen by ABC News said that the plane had “mechanical issues”.
The aircraft is owned by Port Macquarie-based Eastern Air Services. The company offers direct flights to Lord Howe Island from Port Macquarie, Newcastle and the Gold Coast.
