Hunt for missing Cambridge Plane

Hunt for missing Cambridge Plane

www.cambridge-news.co.uk

A SEARCH and rescue operation has been launched after an aircraft which set off from Marshall Airport in Cambridge went missing.

The “Long Easy” aircraft, a plastic, home-built two-seater plane, took off this morning (weds) and was heading for Lydd Airport, near Romney Marsh, Kent.

It is owned and flown by a Swiss pilot, who stopped at Cambridge just to refuel.

The pilot was believed to be alone in the aircraft.

He was last heard from near the mouth of the River Medway at Sheerness at about 11am.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
news.bbc.co.uk

There's a bit more detail in the BBC News Story

Missing plane search called off

What's odd is that this aircraft disappeared over a failry populated area in broad daylight - no reports of a crash or anything. Probably a quite mundane explanation .... but who knows?

www.cambridge-news.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Essan


A Rutan designed Long Easy is a good aircraft and fairly easy to fly. if built correctly (and it being of a Swiss pilot probably was) . Its going to be interesting to hear what actually happened!

Zindo

[edit on 6/3/2009 by ZindoDoone]

Now that, is strange.

Maybe he's done a bunk. Maybe he's up to some shadey business, or maybe he's on some distant planet sipping their equivilent to a long island ice tea.

reply to post by Essan


It seems the pilot ended up flying to Switzerland: BBC News

Spokesman Michael Mulford said the pilot had been told to communicate with air traffic control when he was back over dry land, but had failed to do so. He said: "What he did in fact was take a left turn, to avoid what he said was an incoming weather front, and he flew all the way to Switzerland and he landed there.

Mr Mulford added that the pilot was "very apologetic".

Too Right!

[edit on 12/6/09 by lizziejayne]

Rubbish, so were led to believe this 2-seater plane flew across the English Channel/France and then into Switzerland without communicating once with ATC. The pilot would have also only had enough fuel as he needed, so 100 miles of fuel (as he was origionally intending) isnt going to get him 400 miles, even with a tailwind. Somethings not right about this story.