Video: F4U Corsair makes wheels-up landing at Hunter Valley Airshow in Australia

 

The pilot of Chance-Vought F4U-5N Corsair (registered VH-III) made a wheels-up landing during the Hunter Valley Airshow at Maitland Airfield in Australia. Little information is currently available, but the footage seems to suggest the pilot was unharmed and that damage to the aircraft was kept to a minimum.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2017/01/28/video-f4u-corsair-makes-wheels-up-landing-at-hunter-valley-airshow-in-australia/

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  1. The pilot was unhurt and aircraft damage surprisingly low considering the wheels up landing. Reason said to be lack of hydraulic pressure but the fire truck was not deployed at the grass section short of runway 23.

    The Corsair was lifted by crane, landing gear locked down and towed back to the hanger. These are one tough plane and a testament to the pilot’s skills that damage was minimalised.

    • Judy Pay on January 30, 2017 at 6:34 AM
    • Reply

    The Corsair didn’t “have to make a wheels up landing”. There was no mechanical or hydraulic problem with the aircraft.

    1. Thanks Judy for clarifying the situation.
      Did not make sense that a pilot would land wheels up knowingly without the fire truck nearby.

    • Philip Meyers on January 31, 2017 at 10:17 AM
    • Reply

    Well said Judy, people making assumptions points fingers in wrong directions, also add that the plane has never been running so well.
    A sad weekend made better by the aviation ( especially the warbird ) community.

    1. While I recognize that the phrasing I used unwillingly excludes pilot error, saying I’m making assumptions and pointing fingers in the wrong direction is quite a stretch. Regardless, I’ll modify the sentence to say “the pilot made a wheels-up landing”, which will be more accurate.

    • James on March 14, 2017 at 3:59 AM
    • Reply

    What kind of gear warning does the Corsair have? lights and/or horn? Very unfortunate incident…. But landing from a SAAF Harvard 16 ship wings parade formation, busy traffic filled circuit, in that instant before touchdown, I suddenly could not recall lowering the gear on D/W, luckily a second later I felt the wheels touch….but scary moment! Harvard gear warning has big old car hooter on roll bar behind pilots head sounds off on closing throttle, gear up…Reminds me of Bob Smiths great cartoon drawing of bellied in Harvard with huge CFI character on the wing with flaming mouth shouting at hapless student “Didn’t you hear the tower telling you to go around?’ “Why no sir, there was this loud hooter going off, so I didn’t hear them!”

    • Ideas have consequences on March 31, 2017 at 8:31 PM
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    Luckily, this plane was designed to be able to land this way, id needed… O times, o mores.

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