Student Pilot Loses Landing Gear

Maggie Taraska, a 17-year-old student pilot, was flying solo out of the Beverly Airport in Massachusetts on Sunday when another pilot radioed the tower.

Tower, that Warrior just lost his main gear. Looks like the wheel just fell off the airplane.

As you can tell from the recording, Taraska was instantly terrified, but she bucked up and followed directions from her instructor John Singleton to the letter. After landing a couple of nearby planes, the airport shut down all flights until she managed to land successfully, despite having only two wheels on her landing gear. Way to go, Maggie! Taraska has been training for three years, and hopes to join the US Air Force, as both her parents did. (via Metafilter)