Airplane landing gear falls from the sky onto golf course
A plane’s wheel, rather than a birdie, fell onto the seventh fairway
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A golf course in Maine has an additional hole after a plane’s landing gear fell off mid-flight, leaving a small crater on the seventh fairway.
Aviation authorities told NECN that the twin-engine aircraft took off with five passengers onboard when its right-side wheel and a strut fell off. It was coming into land when the incident unfolded on Tuesday evening.
The aircraft, which was was aiming for the International Jetport in Portland, Maine, was forced to turn around and perform an emergency landing on Long Island, in New York. There were no reports of injuries.
Aviation authorities reportedly told the Gorham County Club, a golf club roughly 10 minutes away from the Jetport, and about 10 miles west of Porland, that the landing gear had fallen on its course.
Ted Hatch, of the Gorham Police Department, wrote on Facebook that “there were two miracles in this event” because the plane “was able to do a belly landing and landed safely”, and “nobody was struck by this falling object when it fell on the 7th fairway from the sky”.
“Just when you thought you have seen everything, things really do fall from the sky,” he added, along with images of the landing gear on the fairway, and a large hole that has been left behind.
The Gorham Country Club reportedly handed the wheel and strut to federal aviation investigators, and a probe into the incident is ongoing.
On Thursday, an amateur golfer on the course, Michael Sweeney, told NECN that planes headed to the International Jetport often fly over the course, but that he was surprised to find "a hole on the fairway that's all roped off”.
"I never really thought it would happen," he added. "It's just one of those crazy circumstances. Thankfully no one go hurt, no one was in the wrong place.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments