video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) A 21-year-old student pilot made an emergency landing at a regional airport in Australia on Monday (January 7). The local Herald Sun newspaper online reported that the Piper Warrior had lost its back right-hand wheel shortly after take-off. The flight instructor assisted the young pilot via radio as the student circled the airport for five hours to burn off fuel, the report added. The solo flying trainee managed to get the plane down safely at a small airport in the town of Mangalore, 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Melbourne. After the landing the pilot, who the Herald Sun reported to be Chinese, was helped out of the plane and walked to an ambulance. The student has 120 hours of flight time experience, the Herald Sun said.