The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a small plane ran into trouble during takeoff at Danbury Airport, News 12 reported. The incident ended with the aircraft striking a perimeter fence, but in a moment that could easily have been far worse, the pilot was able to walk away from the scene without injury.
According to the account, the trouble began as the plane was trying to get into the air. The pilot realized during the takeoff roll that the aircraft was not going to clear the perimeter fence at the edge of the airfield, leaving him only a split second to decide what to do as the end of the available ground approached.
Rather than continue and risk becoming airborne without enough room, the pilot chose to abort. He put the plane back down onto the ground and hit the brakes, throwing everything into stopping the aircraft before it could leave the airport property and reach the road that runs alongside it.
The plane still made contact with the fence, but the decision appears to have paid off. The aircraft struck the perimeter fence yet stayed off the roadway beside the airport, stopping in a position that kept it clear of passing traffic and avoided turning the aborted takeoff into a far more serious crash.
Crucially, no one was hurt. The pilot was the only person on board the aircraft, and News 12 reported that he walked away from the incident unhurt, an outcome that stood out given how the failed takeoff could have unfolded had the plane carried on or veered onto the road.
Explaining the maneuver, the report likened it to a situation drivers know well, comparing it to a moment on the highway when the car ahead stops suddenly and a driver pulls into the breakdown lane to buy extra stopping distance. That, it was suggested, was effectively what the pilot did to give himself more room to halt the plane.
In the aftermath, fire and police crews removed the plane from the scene, and a temporary barrier was put up while the damaged fence is repaired. With the aircraft cleared and the airport perimeter patched for now, the FAA is left to examine exactly what happened during the takeoff attempt that ended at the fence.