In-Cockpit Video Recorder Captures Near-Perfect Off-Airport Landing

Some pretty spectacular video is making the rounds of the Internet this week showing a near-perfect off-airport landing in a Jabiru J-170 during a training flight in Australia. Neither the instructor nor the student pilot was injured.

The student, 18-year-old Josh Matica, was getting his first flying lesson in the Jabiru.

The incident occurred in mid-August in Queensland near the Australian east coast. The video, which has no audio track, shows the lesson progressing when the prop suddenly stops turning. Radio Australia reports that Doug Field, the instructor, said he tried to re-start the engine, but was unsuccessful. "I'm having a bit of a look around, you can see there weren't too many good options there," he told the broadcast service.

In the video posted to YouTube by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the engine is seen stopping with the airplane at about 1,100 feet. Field initially tried to return to the airport, but that option quickly dissipated. He declared an emergency and picked out a field in which to land.

That landing went pretty well, all things considered. The plane narrowly missed a structure on the property and touched down ... somewhat roughly ... on the turf. It was described as a "textbook" emergency landing.

The Jabiru is owned by Pathfinder Aviation, which released a statement praising the actions of the instructor and the student for their calm reaction to the emergency. Field reportedly volunteers with Wings of Life, an organization that raises money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

(Image from YouTube video)

FMI: Watch The Video http://youtu.be/kUZI69FSDag