Who Was That Masked King Air Pilot?

It was a textbook event, one to make a flight instructor proud: after a bouncing attempt to jar the right maingear of his King Air 100 (file photo of type, right) into place, a pilot initiated a go-around at Atlanta's Fulton County-Charlie Brown airport Thursday, before bringing the twin turboprop around for a near-perfect belly landing.

You'd think the pilot would at least want to make a curtain call, or receive some recognition for a job well done. Not necessarily... in fact, no one has seen the unidentified pilot since he and his two passengers deplaned following the incident, which was captured on live television.

"I don't have the pilot's name," said Gregory Chambers, a Fulton County Fire Department spokesman, to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "That's the big mystery right now."

Efforts by the Journal-Constitution to identify the pilot through the plane's owner, the FAA, airport officials in Savannah and other local sources were unsuccessful Thursday.

Chambers said the pilot discovered while on approach to land at FTY the plane's right landing gear wouldn't lower. The pilot initially attempted jar the right maingear into place by touching down on just the front and left gear (in and of itself a feat worthy of note) but that didn't work.

So the unidentified pilot circled back around, tucked everything back up, and made an arrow-straight landing on the aircraft's belly. Several fire trucks and ambulances were standing by in case they were needed to deal with a post-touchdown fire, which never occurred.

The three people onboard the King Air appeared unharmed as they exited the plane.

"It was a textbook landing," said Scott Smith, a flight instructor for Air Transport Advancement Co. who watched the landing after hearing the pilot report landing gear problems. "That guy deserves an award in my book."

Whoever he is...

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IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 86TR        Make/Model: BE10      Description: 100 King Air (U-21F Ute)
Date: 11/17/2005     Time: 1710

Event Type: Incident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
Damage: Minor

LOCATION
City: ATLANTA   State: GA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
ACFT LANDED GEAR UP, FULTON COUNTY AIRPORT, ATLANTA, GA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   2     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: VFR

OTHER DATA

Departed:                             Dep Date:    Dep. Time:     
Destination: ATLANTA, GA              Flt Plan: IFR          Wx Briefing: 
Last Radio Cont: FINAL APPROACH
Last Clearance: CLRD TO LAND

FAA FSDO: COLLEGE PARK, GA  (SO11)              Entry date: 11/18/2005

FMI: www.ntsb.gov