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Jim Mason · Guest

Finalists Selected for 2003 CAA General Aviation Safety Awards

CAA Press Release 20/04/04

A pilot who successfully completed a forced landing after parts of his
aircraft=3Fs engine came away, and a group of individuals who each playeda
part in assisting a pilot to carry out a forced landing at night after his
aircraft suffered engine problems, have been selected as finalists for the
Civil Aviation Authority=3Fs (CAA) General Aviation Safety Awards for 2003.

Now in its tenth year, the CAA Safety Awards scheme recognises people
within the UK general aviation community whose outstanding airmanship,
practical skills, quick thinking and common sense have averted a serious or
possibly fatal incident. The annual awards will be presented by Lord
Glenarthur, Chairman of the British Helicopter Advisory Board, at the RAF
Club in London on Tuesday 11 May.

The finalists were nominated for the awards as a result of the following
incidents:

·In July 2003, Mr Les Morley of Coulsdon, Surrey, was flying a Stampe
biplane north of Redhill when the propeller, half the engine cowling, half
the crankshaft and the pistons came away from the engine. Despite the very
daunting engine problem, Mr Morley managed to force-land the aeroplane on a
disused landfill site with no further damage to the aircraft and no injury
to himself.

·In February 2003, an instructor on a night training flight from Southend
to Norwich reported that the engine of his Cessna 152 was running roughly
and announced his intention to return to Southend. The instructor, Mr James
Meeson, was in radio contact with Air Traffic Control at Wattisham Radar
where Mr Martin Grogan was the duty controller. Mr Grogan provided Mr
Meeson with bearings for him to fly back to Southend and alerted the
National Air Traffic Control Distress and Diversion Cell. As the aircraft
passed close to Colchester, Mr Meeson reported that the problem was getting
worse. He stated he was unable to maintain height, but that he was able to
see a lit flat area which appeared suitable for a forced landing.

Staff Sergeant Steven Anthony, the Wattisham duty aircrew officer, had
completed his period of duty in the control tower. On hearing the radio
transmissions, he stayed and offered assistance. Staff Sergeant Anthony
used a map and the pilot=3Fs description to identify the lit area as a car
park at Roman Barracks, Colchester. While Mr Grogan attempted
unsuccessfully to contact the local rescue helicopter to survey the site,
the air traffic control assistant in the tower contacted the guardroom at
Roman Barracks. PC Jim Ririe of the MOD (Ministry of Defence) police was
police operations controller at the barracks. To assist, he sent a police
vehicle with MOD PCs Sam Shields, Brian Britton and James Clift, and PC
Yates of the Essex constabulary to inspect the site. PC Yates is a pilot,
and was able to confirm that the site was unobstructed and of sufficient
length for Mr Meeson to land. The vehicle was positioned beside a point
which seemed suitable as a runway threshold, in order to give the pilot an
aiming mark.

Mr Meeson stated that the calmness in Mr Grogan=3Fs voice throughout allowed
him to keep panic at bay. As he was made aware that the site was first
known, and then inspected by a pilot as suitable, he progressively relaxed
so that he was able to carry out the landing safely. All those who assisted
Mr Meeson have been jointly nominated for the award.

The judging panel will have to make the difficult choice of an overall
winner, who will be presented with the CAA=3Fs General Aviation Safety Awards
Tiger Moth Trophy by Lord Glenarthur on 11 May. All the finalists will be
given certificates. Anyone involved in general aviation - pilots,
engineers, aircraft operators or air traffic control staff =3F can win an
award.

The judging panel comprises Mike Bell, Group Director, Safety Regulation at
the CAA; John Hills, Head of the Safety Regulation Group=3Fs General Aviation
Department; David Ogilvy, President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association (AOPA); Peter Godwin of Bonus Aviation; John Romain of the
Aircraft Restoration Company; and Nick Wall, editor of Flyer magazine.

Note to Editors:

The CAA=3Fs Safety Regulation Group introduced the General Aviation Safety
Awards scheme in 1994 to recognise achievements that make an exceptional
contribution to flight safety, and for the circumstances surrounding them
to be shared within the aviation community.

The CAA is the UK's specialist aviation regulator. Its regulatory
activities range from making sure that the aviation industry meets the
highest technical and operational safety standards to preventing
holidaymakers from being stranded abroad or losing money because of tour
operator insolvency.

For further information contact the CAA Press Office on: 020 7453 6030.

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