When you take off in an airplane, you assume all the parts of the plane will stay on it.
Even for seasoned pilots, the idea of losing a wheel would be worthy of some panic. But imagine if you’re a first-time pilot, on your third ever solo flight – how would you handle it?
That’s just the situation one Michigan pilot found herself in recently. After Taylor Hash had taken off from the Oakland County International Airport, she believed her plan had cleared the runway safely.
That is, until another pilot on the ground radioed air traffic control to let them know that Hash’s plane had lost the front nose gear tire as she took off.
“Hey that Diamond Star that just took off lost its nose wheel tire on the runway at rotation,” veteran pilot Chris Yates said.
The tower’s response –
Nobody has seen this before.”
The 21-year-old Hash said she ‘didn’t know what to do in that moment’.
Taylor Hash. Photo from WXYZ video
Yates, who was the former director of aviation at SpaceX, decided to radio Hash, knowing she might need the help landing the now in-trouble plane.
He said he heard the fear in Hash’s voice, and immediately reassured her.
Taylor, this is Chris. My daughter’s name is Taylor and I taught her to fly! We’re gonna be just fine, kiddo,” Yates said, according to local news outlet WXYZ.
Hash was in a two-seat, single-engine Diamond DA20-C1 aircraft which had cleared inspection before takeoff. She didn’t expect to have any issues, she said.
“I got in the plane, started the engine up, called on the radio and asked for clearance to taxi to the runway. Everything was perfectly fine,” she said.
Yates began to calmly walk Hash through how to land the plane safely, telling the young pilot to circle the airport before making a low approach to land.
“You by yourself?” Yates asked her. “I am solo,” Hash replied.
Hash told WXYZ, “You can hear it in my voice on the audio that I’m kind of freaking out and figuring out how I’m gonna land this plane safely.”
She said, “It’s hard to think about what could have happened. The plane could’ve ended up in the grass, in the dirt, flipped over.”
Over the radio, Yates instructed her, “When you touch down, I just want that stick all the way back. You’re gonna hold that stick back like you don’t want that nose to touch.”
“The nose is gonna come down, you’re okay, you’re okay,” Yates said as Hash’s plane made it to the runway. “Talk to me. Thatta girl, proud of you.”
The scene at the airport after Hash landed her plane. Fox 2 photo
Both Hash and Yates say they were crying when she made it down safely.
“I landed, the plane stopped and that’s kind of when I melted down a bit,” Hash said.
Hash and Yates say they’ve been in touch every day since the incident and plan to fly together in Vegas at the end of April
Hash told reporters that she still gets emotional listening to the recording of Yates helping her land.
“Just having someone to have a conversation with me, and not be so official with the aviation language—it was just calming. It was perfect and just what I needed in that moment,” she said.
Hash said that while in the air she had moments where she told herself if she landed safely, she would be done flying. However, she said that she most definitely would take to the skies again.
That was good, considering how impressed Yates said he was with Hash’s flying abilities. “Somebody with six hours solo and 57 total hours flight time doesn’t handle the plane like that,” Yates said. “I hope all the airlines are paying attention to this kid right now.”
For a look at the dramatic landing, watch below.
