Pilot fined after concrete block falls off his plane
14.12.07
A pilot has been fined after he failed to untie a concrete block from his plane before take off from Newcastle Airport and it plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground. The block landed near schoolchildren attending a tennis club. Alan Gibson was fined £1000 for failing to carry out a pre-flight check correctly before flying from the airport.
The four seater Piper Cherokee had taken off from Newcastle Airport at 09:20 on Wednesday May 9 this year. The near-miss happened after the concrete, which is used to anchor planes on runways, broke free from the aircraft. It should have been untied before take-off. Around 50 children were at the Northumberland Tennis Club in Jesmond when the concrete block hurtled into the adjacent car park.
Police were called and took the block from the car park. Northumbria Police contacted the Civil Aviation Authority which investigates air safety and they brought prosecution for a breach of the Air Navigation Order.
A spokesman said: 'This was a very serious incident and that was the reason for prosecuting.' Mr. Gibson, of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to the offence by letter and now must pay the fine imposed by magistrates at Gosforth as well as £700 in costs.
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