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17 January 2018
www.champnews.com
Vol 25 ● Issue 3
A PILOT who crash-landed a plane in a field near Parbold on August 28 last year “hopped” the aircraft over a fence to avoid hitting it, states a report released by the Air Accident Investigation Board. The light aircraft, a Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee, was forced to land after losing power at around 2,300ft. It crash-landed on a field before hitting a sheep which ran into its path. The plane was on a training flight, and two practice engine failures had been carried out within 15 minutes of it leaving Liverpool Airport. Then, while climbing at around 2,300 ft a genuine engine failure happened and its power suddenly reduced. The 53-year-old instructor, who had nearly 1,000 hours flying experience, took control to attempt to glide the plane to a safe landing. He made a distress call and selected a suitable field to land. Damage The propeller continued to ‘windmill’ until the aircraft was flared for landing. After touchdown the instructor spotted a low fence ahead and briefly lifted the aircraft off the ground again and “hopped” over the fence. During the subsequent ground roll several sheep ran in front of the aircraft and one was hit, causing the damage to the plane. The aircraft was stopped close to a second fence and the electrics and fuel were then turned off before both crew members exited through the door. Some unidentified debris was later found in the carburettor but the examining engineer was unsure if this was sufficient to have caused the engine failure.
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RENEWED CALL FOR IMPROVED PARKING OFFER FOR TOWN Report by Kenny Parker A LONG-serving councillor is calling on West Lancs Council to make good on its promise to introduce a better parking offer for Ormskirk to help “hard-pressed” retailers in the town. Councillor Adrian Owens, Derby ward representative for the Our West Lancashire independent group, says that when his party’s proposal for a new parking offer was rejected in July, council bosses said an alternative scheme would be in place by September. But five months later he says they are still waiting for the plans to materialise. However a spokesperson for the council said parking charges were currently being reviewed for a report to be “presented to councillors shortly.” Cllr. Owens said: “Labour made a promise at last July’s council meeting
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Councillor says ‘hard-pressed’ traders are still waiting for promised scheme five months later to bring forward new proposals for Ormskirk’s car parks by September, yet still we are waiting. “The post-Christmas period is probably the hardest time of the year for retailers and yet there is still no sign of the long-promised plans. They weren’t on the agenda for this month’s cabinet meeting.” Cllr. Owens said that revisions to parking arrangements in other towns had helped to boost visitor numbers. He claimed Oldham Council's offer of three hours free parking on Saturdays had resulted in an increase in usage of 22%, while Bolton’s free weekend car parking saw the number of visits increasing from 85,000 to 205,000. He added that Rochdale and Chorley councils had both also introduced three hours of free parking daily. Our West Lancashire had proposed a 12-month trial of car parking con-
Councillors Ian Davis and Adrian Owens at Wheatsheaf Walk car park
cessions to reduce parking charges or extend free parking after full consultation with the town’s retailers. Cllr. Owens claimed this could have been funded with £80,000 from the
current year’s financial under-spend but said this had been rejected by the ruling Labour group who promised to unveil their own scheme. Continued inside
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