All the usual authorities are investigating a “hard landing” that may have written off a Flexjet Embraer Praetor 500 in Georgia last week. The bizjet was flying six passengers from Westchester County Airport in New York when it apparently slammed into Runway 04 at McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport and ended up sitting on its wings on the grass. Neither the passengers nor the two crew suffered any injuries.
Based on photos from the scene, it appears the right gear collapsed and the left gear poked through the top of the wing. According to Weather Underground, winds were NE 17 gusting to 25 at the time of the incident (2:36 p.m.) The plane is registered to Flexjet.
Yeah, that was pretty hard, as each pilot said to the other, “I thought you were flying.”
It was just a firm touchdown. Must have been something wrong with the landing gear.
Something similar happened several decades ago with an RAF L-1011 tanker/freighter. Unfamiliar pilot was messing with the autopilot on approach. Got the plane out of sorts and touched down so hard he drove a gear strut up through the wing. Broke the aft spar. Did a go around. Tower called to report that smoke was trailing from the plane. It was fuel.
It amazed me at the time but a section of wing from another airplane was removed and spliced into the damaged plane. Engineering and craftsmanship. Upon repair the plane was as good as new. Had a normal life thereafter.
Maybe they were Navy pilots practicing carrier landings.
Yes and undergoing transition training to Southwest. SWA seems to know how to fly a plane onto the ground.
It’s not just Southwest. Got a healthy bounce from a Delta pilot going into Paris in July.