[van id=”van/ns-acc/2018/09/10/NE-030MO_CNNA-ST1-1000000004c38d4d”]
Web Staff
A pilot in training made an emergency landing Sunday after losing a wheel during take-off.
The Beverly Airport shut down to all other traffic to give the pilot, 17-year-old Maggie Taraska, no distractions.
The Federal Aviation Administration said soon after takeoff the pilot of the single-engine, fixed-wing plane reported losing her right main wheel assembly.
“Your right main is now missing from the airplane. It has fallen off the airplane. Say your intentions,” air traffic control said.
“Can I circle back to land?” Maggie asked.
“Are you a solo?” air traffic control asked.
“I’m a student pilot solo,” Maggie said.
“OK. It will be OK. Just go ahead and circle the airport for now. Make a right turn and circle. We’re going to get some people out to help you,” air traffic control said.
You can hear the terror in the 17-year-old’s voice as it crackled.
Her small plane, with two wheels instead of three, circled high above, but help — in the form of her instructor — was on the way.
“Maggie, this is John. How are you doing?” the instructor said.
“I’m OK,” Maggie said.
“OK, you’re doing a great job flying the airplane. Keep doing what you’re doing. We’re going to take our time here. We’ve got plenty of time. You have plenty of fuel. We’ve got plenty of daylight. So just try to relax, and you always heard me say, ‘Go back to basics,’ so we’re going to work the basics here as much as possible, OK?” John said.
“Alright,” Maggie said.
Calmly, the two discussed the challenging landing.
“I think I’m good right now,” Maggie said.
“OK, so just like we’ve done hundreds of times before. Everything is looking good, Maggie. Keep doing what you’ve been trained to do,” John said.
The plane landed safely.
“Beautiful job, Maggie. You’ve got a whole bunch of people clapping for you up here,” John said.