A propeller that fell off a small plane mid-flight on Tuesday morning (Feb. 18), forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in a farmer’s field on Vancouver Island, has been recovered.
To say losing a propeller mid-flight is “extraordinarily unusual” is an understatement, said Colin Williamson, board president of the Victoria Flying Club. “I haven’t heard of it happening before.”
The propeller, with a piece of the engine attached to it, is a key piece of evidence as the club attempts to reassemble the four-seat Cessna 172 to try to determine what caused the engine’s “catastrophic failure” just before 9 a.m. in dry weather and clear skies.
The plane is now back in the flying club’s air hangar.
Bad weather is the most common factor in small plane crashes, and engine failure is rare, said Williamson.
Williamson said the pilot, who was taking his father on a flight for the first time, ran into engine trouble over Mount Douglas park about 10 to 15 minutes after departure from Victoria International Airport.
The Saanich Fire Department, which responded to the crash, said the pilot indicated that an oil leak had obscured the windshield.
The pilot managed to glide the single-engine Cessna 172 past homes and buildings and onto a field in Red Gate Farm, just short of Beckwith Park.
“It was brilliant airmanship to pull that off,” said Williamson of the fully qualified pilot, who has military flying experience.
The plane flipped just feet off the ground when its landing gear got caught in irrigation lines for blueberry bushes in the farmer’s field. When the fire department arrived, it found no smoke or flames.
The pilot and his passenger got out of the plane on their own. They suffered only minor injuries when trying to unbelt themselves and crawl out of the upturned plane, although the pilot was rattled by the incident, said Williamson.
The flying club is leading the investigation into what happened to the plane, working in concert with the Transportation Safety Board.
The club’s remaining 10 aircraft were temporarily grounded for safety checks and back in operation hours later, said Williamson.
