Hero pilot saves family by landing on dirt road
Published: July 15, 2005
A FAMILY of four escaped injury when their 21-year-old pilot made an emergency landing on a dirt road in Western Australia’s Kimberley region yesterday.
John Hare said his family was “very lucky indeed” to be alive and praised the efforts of pilot Deriek Jones. “He knew what he was doing,” Mr Hare said. “He was cool, calm and collected.”
The 47-year-old Perth businessman, his teacher wife Yvonne, 45, and their two daughters, Belinda, 14, and Jessica, 9, chartered the King Leopold Air Cessna 210 to take them on a scenic flight from Broome to Derby.
They were due to meet a sea plane to view the coastline and picturesque Horizontal Falls at Talbor Bay. But 30 minutes after leaving Broome, Mr Jones issued a mayday call just before 9am (WST), telling Brisbane air traffic controllers he was having engine problems and would try to land.
Communication with the plane was then lost and Broome police were alerted.
Onboard, the pilot and Mr Hare - also a trained pilot - began looking for a safe place to land. “I heard the pilot radio mayday and I just turned around and tightened my daughters’ seatbelts,” Mrs Hare told The Australian last night.
“It happened so quickly and we were all very calm. We didn’t have time to do anything other than just hope for the best.”
Mr Jones made an emergency landing on a dirt road on Kilto cattle station, 67km northeast of Broome. The pilot and his passengers climbed from the plane and took shelter under a tree while they waited for help to arrive.
Broome District Health acting manager Steve Carrigg said the group had been transferred to Broome Hospital by ambulance, where Mr Jones was being treated for a suspected fractured ankle. He was in a stable condition.
He said the Hare family had been examined by a doctor and allowed to leave. “They were very very fortunate not to have sustained any injuries,” Mr Carrigg said.
King Leopold Air owner Phil Telfer said Mr Jones had followed standard procedure after reporting the engine trouble. He said Mr Jones, who had 12 months’ flying experience, had been working for the company for four months.
The Cessna was part of a fleet of 14 owned by the company and had undergone regular maintenance and safety checks.
Officers from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were hoping to interview the pilot late yesterday. A spokesman said further investigation was unlikely.
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