Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
It is rather hot in the Pilbara (NW Australia) and a cold beer is something of a necessity but this is a bit unusual even for a mining town.
Plane 'taxied down main street to Newman pub'
By Natalie Jones
Mon 3 Nov 2014, 2:42pm
Photo: The light aircraft was parked outside a Newman pub after apparently being driven along the main street. (Supplied: Newman Police)
Map: Newman 6753
A Pilbara resident has spoken of his surprise at seeing a plane parked outside his local pub after its owner apparently taxied it down the main street so he could get a drink.
Officers were called to the Newman Hotel, also called the Purple Pub, about 2:00pm on Friday. Witnesses told police the light aircraft, with its propeller running, had taxied from one end of the mining town to the other.
The aircraft did not have wings and was later towed from the pub.
Newman resident Beau Woolcock said he and his five-year-old daughter watched on as the plane was towed away.
"On the way back through [town]... here's a plane parked outside the Purple Pub," he said.
"Even more special [was] seeing one of the local coppers poking his head in the door of the plane looking like he was asking for a licence.
"Even though no-one was in the plane at the time, I was like, what the hell?"
Newman Sergeant Mark Garner said the incident was being treated very seriously because there were children walking home from school at the time.
He said police had CCTV footage and were speaking with the plane's owner, who is aged 37.
"When we arrived we found a Beechcraft two seater prop-driven plane parked in one of the bays," Sergeant Garner said.
"There was no-one there. The wings were off the plane. We made some inquiries with some of the people in the pub and witnesses nearby and ended up speaking to a 37-year-old male."
He said the fact that the plane did not have a steering wheel made the situation very dangerous, and the propeller could also have caused significant damage.
"The danger obviously taxiing a prop plane down Newman Drive, bearing in mind that kids have just come out of school," he said.
"It's a busy Friday afternoon. I know it's Newman, but we do get a fair bit of traffic."
Mr Woolcock said the plane had attracted a crowd.
"The plane was empty but they had the fire brigade and the jaws of life there and stuff one of the local guys rocked up with his tow truck and ended up putting it up on there," he said.
"There were people sitting around by the Caltex with their phones up taking snapshots... as they would be... you don't get to see that every day."
Witnesses have been asked to contact police.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-03/man-taxied-plane-down-main-street-to-pub/5861970
