New pilot, 72, mistakes A1 motorway for runway

No passengers travelling onboard

An inexperienced pilot confused a motorway for a runway while out on his first solo flight at nighttime before accidentally descending to around 300ft.

A report into the incident reveals that the 72-year-old mistook lights on the A1 motorway for the lights on the landing strip on 9 January 2022.

The new pilot had just 233 hours of flying experience under his belt when his aircraft strayed south of Newcastle International Airport and inadvertently allowed the aircraft to descend to 300ft as he searched for the runway.

The incident occurred during the man’s Night Rating test – a course lasting several hours which qualifies pilots to fly at night.

The course normally comprises theoretical knowledge instruction and several hours each of flight time in an aircraft at night, dual instruction, cross-country navigation, solo takeoffs, and full-stop landings.

On realising he was flying at a lower level than intended, the pilot began to ascend again. At that same moment, air traffic control operatives saw the aircraft’s transponder altitude reducing toward 500 ft, and called on the pilot to climb.

Once safely level, the pilot turned back toward the airfield and with help from air traffic control he managed to reorient his flight towards the intended runway.

He then managed to safely land the Reims Cessna F172M Light Aircraft.

After a “debrief and a long ground brief on Newcastle features and radio procedures,” the pilot’s instructor cleared the pilot to continue his night-flying training, the report states.

The investigation into the mishap states that the incident highlights the “increased risk from distraction...in situations where external visual cues are reduced.”

There were no other passengers travelling onboard and no one was injured during the incident, according to the invesigation.