POLICE have praised a pilot who performed an emergency landing at Dubbo airport after a mid-air emergency Tuesday afternoon.
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The charter flight had left Melbourne earlier in the day bound for Dubbo but the pilot reported a possible problem with the undercarriage of the aircraft as the plane neared its destination.
Emergency services converged on Dubbo City Regional Airport just after 1.15pm.
Under instruction from ground crews the plane, a Beechcraft King Air 90 containing a pilot and four passengers, circled the airport several times before landing without further incident.
Inspector Scott Tanner from Orana Local Area Command said the emergency airport plan had been put in place and police, airport staff, Rural Fire Service, NSW Fire and Rescue and Volunteer Rescue Association personnel responded.
"The plan was that the aircraft was to land upwind across the runway and away from the infrastructure," he said.
"We had fire units on scene and fire units covering the external parts of the airport."
Earlier, he said, the pilot reported that a light had come on in the aircraft suggesting the plane's wheels had not locked into place.
"The pilot did a fly-by and a fellow pilot did see that the wheels were down but it was treated as a potential incident," Inspector Tanner said.
"From the time of notification the plane circled for about an hour, the idea was to get the emergency services into place and also to allow the plane to burn up some excess fuel.
"The plane landed successfully, the pilot did a fantastic job, as did all the emergency services, so it was a good outcome for all.
"The passenger and pilot are very relieved to be on the ground. However, the pilot did maintain control of the aircraft at all times and maintained calm."
Dubbo City Regional Airport operations manager Lindsay Mason said the real-life emergency response provided experience for local crews that would be hard to match in a training exercise.
There were some nervous moments on the ground, he said.
"It's always a worry, something like this," he said.
But Mr Mason said he and others were thrilled and relieved when the plane touched down, given the number of things that could have gone wrong in such an emergency.
The possibility of a grassfire if the plane did not land smoothly was just one of them, he said.
"You plan for the best result and prepare for the worst," he said.
EARLIER:
4pm: Orana Local Area Command inspector Scott Tanner spoke to the media after the incident.
See what he had to say during the press conference in the video below.
2.25pm: The plane has touched down safely at Dubbo Airport after the pilot was directed to conduct an emergency landing.
Emergency services have surrounded the plane to confirm all passengers are okay.
2pm: Emergency services have converged on Dubbo Airport after reports a light aircraft may have problems with the undercarriage of the plane.
Emergency services said they are preparing for an emergency landing.
The plane has been circling the airport for about 40 minutes with reports it will attempt the landing shortly.
It is understood there are four passengers on board the plane.
More to come.