Aircraft Suffered Engine Failure And Went Down In A Lake

When a skydiving plane carrying 13 people suffered an engine failure during a flight Wednesday, those on board did what skydivers do ... they jumped.

All made it safely to the ground.

The plane, a New Zealand-built Pacific Aerospace Ltd. P-750 XL operated by Skydive Taupo, had six skydivers, six crewmembers, and a pilot on board. The passengers were all overseas tourists, and each had been assigned an instructor for a tandem jump, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The jump was planned for between 12,000 and 15,000 feet, but as the plane climbed through 2,000, it "made a big bang" and the engine stopped, according to company CEO Roy Clements. The pilot told them all to get out, and "he didn't have to tell them twice," according to Clements.

The pilot stayed on board until everybody else was off the plane. Then he jumped as well. It is standard operating procedure for a pilot to wear a parachute during skydiving flights.

Emergency drills and training paid off. Everyone made it safely to the ground. The airplane came down in Lake Taupo, a popular tourist destination in New Zealand. The accident is under investigation.

(Image from file. Not incident airplane)

FMI: www.caa.govt.nz