August 22, 2005 Plane Flies Two Hours Missing Five Feet Of Wing

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By Russ Niles, Newswriter, Editor

Homebuilders rejoice -- your mistakes probably aren't that bad. British officials are wondering how the pilot and passengers (including two aircraft mechanics) on board a Cessna 210 could fly the plane for two hours without realizing -- or expressing particular care -- that a five-foot section of one wing was missing. The unnamed pilot, from a community called Dozy (we couldn't make that up), apparently hit a tree on takeoff from an airport in Ireland on his way to deliver the mechanics to a broken Boeing 767 in Portugal. The collision took off more than a third of the wing, including a fuel tank. It wasn't until the plane ran low on fuel over the English Channel that the pilot realized something was wrong and made an emergency landing at Jersey International Airport. He recalled the takeoff collision but said he thought the plane had been "struck by a little bird."