Emergency at Chch Airport
A United States Navy Hercules aircraft aborted a flight to Antarctica and returned to Christchurch Airport yesterday morning after its hydraulic system developed a fault. Ten fire engines, a number of ambulances, and other emergency services were sent to the airport before the aircraft landed.
The Hercules, which carried 11 passengers, landed without incident at 1125 a.m.
The aircraft, owned by the United States National Science Foundation and flown by the Navy, had taken off from the airport at 10.30 a.m. for Ross Island, 3800 km south. Twenty minutes into the flight the problem was indicated on the instrument panel and the pilot, Lieuten-ant-Commander Jim Green, aged 31, decided to turn back.
The failure of the hydraulic system indicated an un-
safe nose ski and possibly unsafe landing gear. Commander Green dumped five tonnes of fuel at sea before landing. A spokesman for the United States Navy said that the Hercules was on a routine cargo flight to Antarctica. Pilots were instructed to turn back if an aircraft developed any fault.
The spokesman said that the pilot had four back-up hydraulic systems available.
Engineers were working on the problem yesterday afternoon.
This is the second such emergency at Christchurch Airport in six days. Emergency services were put on standby on Sunday when a United States Air Force Cl4l-B Starlifter aircraft developed a mechanical fault after take-off. The aircraft had landed safely back at the airport within 21 minutes.
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Press, 7 December 1985, Page 1
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242Emergency at Chch Airport Press, 7 December 1985, Page 1
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