Gear Collapses Under Fairey Firefly At Airshow

Only Known Flying Example Of The British Aircraft In The U.S.

The landing gear of the only known flying example of a British Fairey Firefly in the U.S. collapsed under the airplane after it landed during an airshow on Sunday. The pilot was reportedly uninjured, but the plane suffered some fairly extensive damage.

The incident occurred during the "Wings over Gillespie" air show in El Cajon, CA, just after 1300 PDT. Air show spokesman Rich Kenny said the plane went off the north side of runway 27R, and a media photograph shows the airplane kicking up dirt as it comes to a stop alongside the pavement.

While Kenny told television station KGTV that the airplane was not a total loss, television station KFMB reports that he said the damages are estimated to be in the multiple-millions of dollars.

The plane had to be removed from the grass area alongside the runway with a crane. The FAA and NTSB will investigate the incident.


Source: By the ntsb.gov News - 05 June 2012

Photo: Gear Collapses Under Fairey Firefly At Airshow (Photo by Chris Moore /10news.com)

(6/5/2012)