Tense moments in Central Oahu on Tuesday night.
A plane carrying two people — a flight instructor and a student pilot — had to make an emergency landing in the middle of a field at about 7 p.m.
The FAA says the Cessna had engine problems, and the pilot made a decision to land in a field off Ka Uka Boulevard, across from Costco Waipio.
Amazingly, no one was hurt, and the plane sustained little damage, if any.
“Surprisingly we had an engine problem in flight. We come to this area to practice aerial maneuvers. My student Mr. Hamilton was taking flight training and as we were in the process of doing maneuvers, we had engine trouble and the engine didn’t provide us enough power to make it to the airport Wheeler or Honolulu, so unfortunately we had to put the aircraft down in the field here,” flight instructor Michael Richards said.
KHON2 asked: “How did you pick this particular area to land?”
Richards replied: “We look for places that are safe with adequate landing distance and something that would not cause harm or injury to us or other persons or property.”
He said he only had about three minutes to figure out where to land and glide it to safety.
The single engine Cessna 172 “P” model was built in 1983.
It’s registered to Hawaii Aircraft Leasing and is leased by Moore Air.
Richards is an instructor with Moore Air Flying Club.
KHON2 asked: “Were you scared at all?”
Richards replied: “No. I have a lot of training doing this. I’ve been a flight instructor since 2005 and I have lots of experience teaching students how to handle emergency situations.”
Students like Bruce Hamilton.
“Mr. Richards here put down the plane as he always instructs me. No concern on my part because he was doing a fantastic job,” Hamilton said. “It’s a great lesson I tell you. I hate to say so but I enjoyed it because I could see first hand how soft field landings work in an emergency.”
“No injuries to myself and my passenger, and the aircraft appears to be fine,” Richards said.
So what’s next? Richards said mechanics will take a look at the plane and figure out the best way to get it out of the field. He thinks it’ll most likely be dismantled and then taken away in a container or on a flatbed.
We did some digging and found this is not the first incident involving that particular plane.
Back in January 2012, a female student was piloting the Cessna when it made a hard landing at Honolulu Airport, went off the runway and hit a runway sign.
According to the NTSB accident report, the plane had substantial damage. No one was injured.
http://khon2.com
WAIPAHU, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A small plane has made a controlled emergency landing in a field near the H2 and Ka Uka Boulevard off-ramp on Tuesday evening at around 7:10 p.m.
According to the FAA, the Cessna 172 was flown by a flight instructor with a student pilot, when they experienced engine problems at 2,000 feet.
"Well, it's definitely an elevation of heart rate," said Michael Richards, the flight instructor. "It's not something that you expect but it can happen."
The pilot made an emergency landing in a former pineapple field on the north side of Costco in Waipio.
There are no reported injuries, and the plane was not damaged.
"Well, it's a great lesson I tell you," said Bruce Hamilton, the student pilot. "I really enjoyed it because I got to see firsthand how soft-field landings work in an emergency."
Story, photo, video and comments: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N66540
Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL
A student pilot and his flight instructor were not injured after an emergency landing Tuesday evening of a Cessna 172P in a pineapple field near Costco Waipio.
The 54-year-old student pilot, Bruce Hamilton, turned over the controls of the plane to his instructor, Michael Richards of Moore Air, after the plane experienced engine trouble.
Hamilton said they had finished training and were heading back to Honolulu when the engine started sputtering at an altitude of 2,000 feet.
The plane landed when it was still light, he said.
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