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    Watch out for the curb! 跑錯跑道



    Tuesday, Feb 27, 2007,Page 14

    Light aircraft at the Red Bull 2006 World Series in Perth, Nov. 18, 2006.

    去年11月18日在澳洲伯斯舉行的紅牛2006世界飛行賽中,各式輕型飛機排成一列。 (照片:法新社)
    PHOTO: AFP

    A 68-year-old Briton landed his light aircraft on a road after mistaking it for a runway — and realized his error only when he hit a speed bump, an air accident investigation report said last Thursday.

    The amateur pilot, who was not identified, first realized something was wrong after noticing "a curb to the side and lamp posts to the left" shortly after touchdown in August last year.

    "When close to touchdown, the pilot noticed that the airfield was different from what he remembered," said the accident report into the incident near Shobdon aerodrome in Herefordshire, western England.

    "Shortly after touching down, the aircraft ran over a speed bump which caused it to veer left and leave the road," it said, adding that the plane's left wing then hit a tree and its right was almost knocked off by a lamppost.

    Fortunately for the confused pilot, the road he landed on had only just been built, and was not yet open for traffic. The road, about six kilometers from the aerodrome, "was approximately 600m long and was positioned in the same east-west direction as Runway 27 at Shobdon," said the report.

    Noting the pensioner's own "assessment of the cause," it said: "The pilot reported that he misidentified the road for the runway because of its similar length and orientation." (AFP)

    上週四一份飛安調查報告指出,一名六十八歲的英國老翁誤把馬路當作飛機跑道,讓輕型飛機降落,直到撞上減速丘才知道自己搞錯了。

    去年八月,這位不知名的業餘駕駛員將飛機降落後,隨即注意到「一旁路緣與左側燈柱」,才知道不對勁。

    這起發生在英格蘭西部赫?福德郡索登機坪附近的意外調查報告指出︰「快要降落時,駕駛注意到機坪與他印象中有出入」。

    報告說︰「飛機降落後旋即輾過減速丘,造成機身往左跑,偏離道路。」報告也提及飛機的左翼撞上一棵樹,右翼也幾乎快被一支燈柱撞斷。

    幸好那位糊塗駕駛運氣好,他降落的馬路才剛舖好,尚未開放通車。報告中說,這條馬路距機坪約六公里,「長約六百公尺,與索登機場的27號跑道同為東西向」。

    依據這位退休人士自己評估的「事故原因」,報告中說︰「駕駛指稱這條馬路與跑道的長度與方向相似,所以他才錯把馬路當跑道。」 (法新社╱翻譯︰賴美君)

    Today's Words 今天單字
    1. amateur adj.
    業餘的 (ye4 yu2 de5)
    例: Helen often gets involved in amateur theater.
    (海倫時常參加業餘戲劇演出。)

    2. curb n.
    路緣 (lu4 yuan2)
    例: You should watch out for the curb when parking your car.
    (你停車時應該注意馬路路緣。)

    3. touchdown n.
    降落 (jiang4 luo4)
    例: The pilots prepared for touchdown.
    (飛機駕駛準備降落。)

    4. aerodrome n.
    機坪 (ji1 ping2)
    例: Shall we go to the airshow at the aerodrome this weekend?
    (我們週末要到機坪參觀航空展嗎?)

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