Little Snoring: Pilot unharmed in plane crash despite landing fault

The engine, front caster wheel, propeller and a wingtip were damaged

A pilot and his passenger walked away from a crash landing unharmed despite experiencing a technical fault.

He realised his right main landing gear was "not locked down" while flying the Lancair 320 in Norfolk last year.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said he instead "used the right aileron to hold the wing off the ground during the landing rollout".

An examination of the plane found the right landing gear shock absorber had already discharged.

Investigators said the 45-year-old pilot "maintained directional control using differential braking" during the emergency landing at Little Snoring Airfield, near Fakenham, on 7 October.

"Eventually, as the aircraft slowed, it slewed off the paved surface," the AAIB report read.

"The nose gear collapsed as it entered a rut at the edge of a field."

The commercial pilot, who was in a private aircraft manufactured in 1998, had completed 2,964 flying hours.

The engine, front caster wheel, propeller, starboard flap and a wingtip were all damaged, the report said.