Roger Long wrote:
Lead Story:

DISASTER AVERTED AT PORTLAND JETPORT

The Portland Jetport was closed and a Portland based pilot narrowly escaped
with his life this morning when the rear landing gear on his Cessna Hawk
collapsed.

(Cut to aerial shot of runway covered with flashing lights and emergency
vehicles)

Next scene was an interview with someone from the fire department saying
that it was a good thing that is was a rear wheel. "If it had been a
nosewheel, there would have been a catastrophe."

(Image in hundreds of viewers heads of a wave of burning aviation fuel
rolling down the streets of their neighborhood.)

Next scene: Anchors looking at each other and saying, "Whew! He was a lucky
guy."

The plane, an amphibian, happens to be tied down next to ours. I went to
look at the damage. The wheels were properly extended and everything looked
normal. I felt under the keels of both floats. They were both a little
rough ahead of the wheels but I'm durned if I can figure out which one was
just scraping along the concrete.

Sheesh! The media!

--
Roger Long


Ha!

Just a few days ago here in Tulsa, a woman landed either a 152
or 172, without any nose gear. The whole assembly had fallen
off in flight south of town. The landing was uneventful, the plane
making a straight rollout/scrapeout, coming to rest in an
understandibly "nose low" attitude.

Tom Pappano, PP-ASEL-IA