Plane crashed into sheep in farmer’s field
APLANE crashed into a sheep when it made a forced landing in a West Lancashire field.
The pilot had to land the light aircraft, a Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee, in a field near Parbold after losing power at about 2,300ft.
The 1974 plane was being used for a training flight and two practice engine failures were successfully completed within 15 minutes of leaving Liverpool Airport.
But it then suffered a genuine failure and the instructor, a 53-year-old with almost 1,000 hours’ flight experience, took control to glide the plane to safety.
A distress call was sent out and the instructor chose a suitable field to land in.
After touching down, the instructor spotted a low fence and managed to lift the aircraft back off the ground to clear it, in what was described as a “hopping” manoeuvre.
As the plane rolled through the field, several sheep ran in front of the aircraft and one was hit, causing damage to the port wing.
The incident took place at around 10.30am on August 28 last year, but details were released this week following an investigation by the government’s Air Accident Investigation Board.
The cause of the engine failure could not be proved after the investigation, but unidentified debris was found in the carburettor and may have caused the power loss.
Both members of the crew escaped unharmed but no information was given about whether the sheep survived the incident.