BEVERLY, MASS. (WHDH) - The pilot who pulled off a rough landing in Beverly Saturday spoke out about the heart-stopping moments as he brought the plane back down to the ground.
The pilot said he only had his private pilot’s license for a few hours when the emergency occurred.
Mansour Rhilane was flying high over his Beverly flight school Saturday teaching one of his students, when something went terribly wrong.
“As soon as I reach about 1,000, 1,050, I hear a noise, something like ‘boom, boom’ boom,” Rhilane said. “So my first thought was, is it the engine not running smooth?”
But, it wasn’t the engine.
The 30-year-old said one of the wheels from his landing gear suddenly came off mid-flight.
That was when Rhilane’s instincts kicked in.
“If you’re out on a plane, you got to keep cool,” he said. “Yes, everyone gets afraid. But getting afraid, it will just make the situation worse.”
With prayers and a lot of practice, Rhilane got ready for the landing of his life.
He approached slowly, and the plane landed safe and sound, despite the missing wheel.
24 hours later the pilot was back at work, counting his blessings.
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