- Do you like flying? Why/ Why not?
- Have you ever had a scary experience in a plane?
- Have you heard or read of any dangerous things happening with planes in the news recently?
- It is said that flying is the safest way to travel - do you agree?
Now read the article and answer this question:
- What happened?
In October 2015, a pilot managed to glide his single-engined aeroplane to safety after
the propeller fell off at 2,000ft (610m).
The
man was flying between Bodmin and Roche in Cornwall when he was
forced to make the emergency landing at a country club airstrip near
Polzeath just after 16:00 BST on Wednesday.
The
club was evacuated during the landing. The pilot later had a glass of
water there, said witnesses.
The
propeller was recovered from a building site in Polzeath.
The
pilot, Nick Chitterdon, said the aircraft is a vintage 1936 plane.
"When
the propeller went there was a loud bang and it disappeared to the
left.
"I
switched the fuel off and started looking for field to land in. I
then remembered a private airstrip at a nearby golf course and it
took sometime to glide down."
Eva
Davies, one of the directors at The Point at Polzeath Club, where the
aircraft landed, said: "We had a phone call from the fire
service who told us to evacuate the building, which included the
restaurant, golf club, health club, gym, changing rooms, and swimming
pool.
"The
aircraft was spotted by a few golfers as it came in. He was gliding
down straight on to our airfield.
"Although
he landed safely, within five minutes we had six fire engines, three
police cars and an ambulance here. They didn't know if he was injured.
"The
pilot then came in and had a glass water."
A
Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: "Thankfully, he was
obviously a very skilled pilot.
"The
pilot has recovered the plane, and the propeller which landed in New
Polzeath has been recovered by the police."
A
spokesman from Bodmin Airfield said pilots were trained to glide in
aircraft before "going solo" to prepare them for such
incidents.
The
plane was an Aeronca. The incident has been reported to The Air
Accidents Investigation Branch.
Now read again more slowly and answer the following questions:
- Where did the incident happen?
- What kind of plane was it?
- Tell us about the pilot.
- Why was he able to land the plane quite easily?
- Was it luck or training that saved the pilot?
Writing/Discussion Ideas
- Write or say example sentences using any new words you have found in this article.
- Write a short story about someone who has a problem in their flying machine.
- Has this article changed your opinion about flying? If so, how?
- Would you like to be the pilot of a plane?
- What's the difference between 'I flew in a plane,' and 'I flew a plane'?
Remember to leave a comment below with your thoughts on this story :)
