Audio By Carbonatix
A Friend of Unfair Park forwards some raw, silent footage from KXAS-Channel 5 of an experimental plane that landed the hard way at Love Field earlier this afternoon. The video follows, and given the markings, odds are the pilot was shot down by Darth Vader — that, or “the landing gear collapsed,” explains Jose Torres, spokesman for the city’s Aviation Administration.
Torres tells Unfair Park the pilot was cleared to land on Runway 13L, the one that runs parallel to Lemmon Avenue, earlier this afternoon. But, clearly, he landed a little too hard, Torres says, “and he pancaked on the runway.” Within the hour, a flatbed hauled the plane to Landmark Aviation, where mum’s the word.
Torres says the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate, but of course; so far the hard landing hasn’t made it to today’s listing of Preliminary Accident & Incident Data. “Since it’s an experimental aircraft,” Torres says, “they need to investigate who put it together and talk to the owner.” Torres says it didn’t impact Southwest’s air traffic at Love Field. He also noted the plane will no longer be able to make the Kessel Run this weekend.
