Young pilot lands plane on its belly in Sydney emergency landing
A young pilot has been praised after successfully crash landing his aircraft on its belly in Sydney on Wednesday night.
Investigators will spend the day examining the incident after the 23-year-old pilot was forced to make an emergency landing at Bankstown Airport when his landing gear failed to deploy.
The plane skidded along the runway shortly before 8pm on Wednesday.
The aircraft, on a routine flight from Wagga Wagga to Bankstown, was only carrying the pilot and mixed freight.
The flight path shows the pilot circling the airport a number of times before it was able to land safely.
Fire crews laid a foam blanket as precaution.
Once on the runway the plane had to be hoisted by crane and removed.
Chris Cabot, Wagga Air Centre Chief Pilot, said the young pilot was brave.
"One of the most challenging things you'll ever have to do in your career is possibly what he did last night, and he landed the aircraft safely and full credit to him," he said on Thursday.
The 23-year-old pilot returned to the skies the following day.
