Crash Landing Was Result of Error by Pilot
Pilot error caused a twin-engine plane to make a crash landing at Oxnard Airport on Friday.
Flight instructor Mike Gordon said he was giving instructions to a student pilot and forgot to put the landing gear down in the $350,000 twin-engine Beechcraft Baron.
“We didn’t realize it until we hit the ground,” Gordon said.
The plane skidded on its belly for more than 50 feet before coming to an abrupt but safe stop just after 9 a.m. Friday on the west end of the runway.
The airport remained closed for about two hours as crews attempted to remove the damaged aircraft, said airport manager Tad Dougherty. It is the first accident at the airport in at least the last 12 months, Dougherty said.
An air traffic controller in the airport tower radioed Gordon that his landing gear was not down, but Gordon told officials he thought the controller was talking to another plane, according to Dougherty.
Gordon’s student, who did not want to be identified, has a license to fly single-engine aircraft and was trying to get certification to fly twin-engine aircraft, Dougherty said. The two were flying from Van Nuys and were attempting a routine landing, Gordon said.
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