Light plane makes emergency landing on Mona Vale golf course

The pilot of a light plane made an emergency landing on the fairway of Mona Vale Golf Club on Sunday afternoon.

Witnesses watching from the ground reported hearing a large bang coming from the aircraft shortly before it made its sudden descent.

Guests at the clubhouse and golfers on the fairway were offered a front-row view of the spectacular landing as the plane came to a sudden stop on the 15th hole, in front of the clubhouse, at about 2pm.

The trainee pilot and co-pilot aboard the 1967 Piper Cherokee aircraft managed to step from the plane with minor injuries once it had stopped in front of the clubhouse. The plane was being flown by the trainee pilot when it was forced to land due to engine failure.

A witness filmed the crash and shared the video on Instagram.

“The light aircraft came down on the course – witnesses and golfers quickly rushed to help the pilot out of the plane,” wrote Instagram user @mg_untamed. “Thankfully, it seems there are no major injuries at this stage. Paramedics and fire crews are now on site providing support.

The light aircraft, a 1967 Piper ‘Cherokee’ PA-28-140 – which had been leased by a light aircraft pilot training school in Shellharbour – is understood to have been on a training flight with a trainee pilot and instructor when it lost power and made for the golf course to attempt an emergency landing.

The aircraft’s owner, Simon Thomas, was at the Sydney Swans v Geelong AFL game when he heard that his plane had made the emergency landing. The flight instructor had called him soon after landing to let him know they were OK.

“I have had better days,” Thomas told this masthead. “I got a call from the instructor as soon as he landed to say there was some kind of engine failure and he was unable to maintain altitude”.

Thomas, who paid about $60,000 for the plane in October last year, said he understood that both the instructor and trainee-pilot have been released from hospital and are now recovering at home.

NSW Ambulance Inspector, Chris Peck, said ambulance and other emergency services were called to Mona Vale Golf Course about 2.20pm on Sunday amid reports of a plane crash.

“On arrival, crews were confronted with a light aircraft that had made an emergency landing after losing power. Both occupants, males in their 50s, had self-extricated. They had minor injuries and were transported to Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition,” Peck told The Northern Beaches Advocate.

“Given the nature of the accident, both the pilot and the trainee pilot had only minor abrasions and were coherent and had full recollection of events. They were very lucky.

“It was a very quick response from ambulance as the nearest crew was only around the corner at Mona Vale. There were no bystander injuries, which is also lucky considering it’s a packed golf course on a Sunday afternoon.”

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