Anger at 'impounded' Plymouth emergency landing plane Published duration 19 August 2015

image caption Sutton Harbour Holdings said it would not give permission for the aircraft to take off

A decision to "impound" a vintage aircraft that made an emergency landing at a former airport in bad weather has been branded "outrageous".

Sutton Harbour Holdings - the leaseholder of the site which closed in 2011 - claimed the pilot had committed an act of "trespass".

It has insisted it can only be removed by road, because of safety.

But the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) said there was "no good reason" not to let it fly out.

'Unprecedented' action

The pilot, who has asked not to be identified, made the decision to land his Jodel G-AXSU at Plymouth after a deterioration in the weather during his flight from Cornwall to Kent on 9 August.

Charles Strasser, vice president of AOPA, said the pilot made "exactly the right decision".

He was instrumental in negotiating the Strasser Scheme , whereby aerodrome owners adopted a policy of waiving all charges for emergency landings or diversions.

It followed a review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in 1997 which stated that a number of fatal accidents could have been prevented with "a timely diversion or precautionary landing".

Mr Strasser's scheme has now been adopted by all military and 98% of commercial airfields in the UK - including Plymouth until its closure.

image caption A concrete block has been placed in front of the vintage plane to prevent it from being moved

"This was a good decision by the pilot and, let's be honest, a much better bet than trying to land in a farmer's field," Mr Strasser said.

"I think it's quite outrageous - and unprecedented - for an airfield owner to act this way... and I can think of no one good reason for it.

"This flies in the face of the spirit of the agreement."

A concrete block has now been placed in front of the aircraft to prevent it being moved.

Scrapping fear

Sutton Harbour Holdings said its decision was "entirely a question of safety".

"We believe that the safest way for this 54-year-old aircraft to be removed is by road, regardless of the competencies of the pilot or the reliability of the aircraft in question," a statement said.

"The former airport site, which has been closed for almost four years, is in a built-up area and has none of the facilities to safely manage the movement of aircraft.

"For that reason we will not give permission for the aircraft to take off but have no issue with it being taken away at any time by road."

But Mr Strasser said the cost of moving the plane by road could result in it being scrapped.

"Taking it to pieces, plus transportation costs, then putting it back together could cost far more that the value of the aircraft and the pilot might be forced to give it up," he said.

"All I would hope for is that at the 11th hour [Sutton Harbour Holdings] see sense, back down and let this pilot fly out."