By Mike Hazlip
A California Department of Parks and Recreation Aviat A-1 Husky aircraft suffered damage to the main front landing gear after an incident at McClellan field Saturday.
The single-engine two-seat aircraft requested assistance over the unicom frequency at the airport after landing, according to witnesses.
Metro Fire reported the aircraft skidded on the runway during a landing. No injuries were reported, and the airport was able to resume normal operations.
Records show the aircraft, tail number N180HU, is registered to the Department of Parks and Recreation. No information on what led up to the incident is available.
The Husky is a three-wheeled aircraft in a configuration known as a “tail-dragger” with two main landing gear wheels in front and a smaller wheel that swivels for steering at the end of the tail. These aircraft types are notoriously difficult to taxi and pilots must have a separate endorsement from the FAA before they can operate the type.
(Mike Hazlip is a reporter for the Citrus Heights Sentinel and we thank him for his contribution.)
