An investigation report has found a pilot carrying out his first solo night flight from Newcastle International Airport mistook the bustling A1 dual carriageway which runs adjacent for the runway.
The plane drifted south of the airport after an unnamed 72-year-old pilot with just 233 hours of flight experience, misidentified road lights for runway lights according to an incident report. Chronicle Live reports the man realised he had lost track of his route while establishing his position.
The pilot then allowed the aircraft to reach approximately 300ft above ground level before realising he was too low and ascended substantially.
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Once safely level, the pilot turned back toward the airfield, with assistance from Newcastle Air Traffic Control, he was able to regain visual contact with the runway and landed the Reims Cessna F172M Light Aircraft in a safe and secure fashion.
Following the mishap, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch filed a report on the occurrence, classifying it as a "serious incident". The event took place at around 7.45pm on January 9, 2022, and thankfully, no parties involved were injured.
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