Tom Podolec Aviation Profile picture
Sr. Multimedia Journalist • Toronto • Aviation Photographer • Real-time Aircraft Emergencies & Flight Alerts • #AvGeek ✈️

Sep 9, 2018, 15 tweets

Piper PA-28 in distress.
Reported as the right main gear wheel fell off the aircraft on departure.
Pilot is a female student solo pilot.
Flying orbits around Beverley Airport, North of Boston. Instructors in the tower assisting. Emergency services standing by.

Instructor now on radio with Piper pilot;
“You’re doing a great job flying the airplane. We’re going to take our time. We got plenty of time. You’ve got plenty of fuel. We’ve got plentiful of daylight. You always heard me say go back to basics. So we’re going to work the basics.”

Update
Piper PA-28 landed safely.

Instructor says ‘there are lots of people clapping for her’.
Instructor did amazing job talking her down. She was in tears while flying.

She is a student pilot and was on a solo flight when her right main gear tire fell off on departure.

Quite the solo flight for this young student pilot. Despite sounding nervous and in tears she managed a safe landing after her right main gear tire fell off her Piper PA-28 as she departed Beverly Airport. Instructor kept her calm and talked her through it.

Another aircraft reported wheel falling off Piper PA-28 on departure. Pilot was on a solo flight. She sounded to be in tears. Air traffic controller was calming; “it will be ok...just circle...we’re going to get some people to help you...everything will be okay”. She landed safe.

Photos
Piper PA-28 lost its main right landing gear wheel on departure. Student pilot on a solo flight. After orbiting for an hour she landed safely at Beverly Airport north of Boston.
📷@WCVB

Piper Audio....
Due to technical difficulties audio is not uploading to Twitter. I have deleted part 1 of 4 to prevent confusion. Hopefully uploads will work later and I will upload then. Sorry.

ATC Audio part 1 of 4
Seventeen year old student solo pilot lost a wheel off her Piper PA-28 plane on departure from Beverly Airport near Boston earlier today. With coordination from Air Traffic Control and her instructor she landed safely with one wheel missing.

ATC Audio part 2 of 4
Seventeen year old student solo pilot lost a wheel off her Piper PA-28 plane on departure from Beverly Airport near Boston earlier today. With coordination from Air Traffic Control and her instructor she landed safely with one wheel missing.

ATC Audio part 3 of 4
Seventeen year old student solo pilot lost a wheel off her Piper PA-28 plane on departure from Beverly Airport near Boston earlier today. With coordination from Air Traffic Control and her instructor she landed safely with one wheel missing.

ATC Audio part 4 of 4
Seventeen year old student solo pilot lost a wheel off her Piper PA-28 plane on departure from Beverly Airport near Boston earlier today. With coordination from Air Traffic Control and her instructor she landed safely with one wheel missing.

Looping ATC Audio properly into this thread

PHOTOS
17 year old girl, student pilot, on a solo flight, lost a wheel departing Beverly Airport near Boston yesterday. She landed safely. Once the wrong happened everything went right after that. More info & ATC Audio posted in this thread above. #Maggie
📷Beverly Airport

Meet Maggie Taraska.

17 year old student pilot, on a solo flight, successfully landed her Piper PA-28 yesterday after losing a wheel on departure from Beverly Airport. Read #Maggie’s story and listen to ATC Audio in this thread above.

📷WCVB/Beverly Airport

Flight instructor John Singleton who calmly assisted solo student pilot Maggie Taraska to a successful landing after she lost a wheel off her plane says:
‘Always told my students; aviate, navigate, communicate. It’s an old saying but it really pays off.’

📷WCVB #maggie

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