A READING pilot who had a case of “press-on-itis” while trying to land in the dark nearly caused a catastrophic accident, a court has heard.

Barry Melville Scott had invited a friend to take a flight in a Piper PA-28 Cherokee Arrow III light aircraft but tried to land at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire during out-of-hours, prosecutors said.

Blackbushe was non-operational at the time the 62-year-old former senior precision engineer tried to land on April 1, 2022, meaning there was no fire and rescue service and no airport lighting.

Alison Slater, prosecuting, said: “To put it in cold parlance, you come in blind and at your own risk.”

Scott and his passenger, Martin Harbor, took a one-hour flight to Dunkeswell Aerodrome in Cornwall and took off at 7.45pm for their return journey to Blackbushe, the court heard.

It was dark as the aircraft approached Blackbushe and the passenger suggested diverting to Farnborough Airport.

“Mr Scott was making radio calls, the passenger assumed were to Farnborough but were in-fact to Blackbushe, which would never have been heard because Blackbushe was closed”, Ms Slater said.

“Mr Scott switched switched on the aircraft landing lights and started to descend. The passenger shouted, ‘this is not Blackbushe’.”

The aircraft was actually above the village of Sandhurst, in Berkshire, and had descended to around 800ft above ground level, the court heard.

National grid power cables became visible, so close Mr Harbor felt if the undercarriage had been down the aircraft would have struck the pylons.

Mr Harbor had shouted “for god sake, climb!”, the court heard. It was clear to Mr Harbor that Scott was now lost and they were going around in circles.

The passenger had been frightened and had asked Scott to declare a ‘PAN’ - a mayday call - and go to Farnborough.

A witness who also happened to be a pilot, Ian Ridger, in Sandhurst said he heard the loud noises of an aircraft which he then saw at what appeared to be between 50 to 100 feet above his house. 

Eventually, the aircraft reached Blackbushe and Mr Scott, who has a night rating, managed to land on the “barely visible” runway, the court heard.

Mr Harbor said he was left shaking and described the experience as “a nightmare” the court heard.

Ms Slater said the defendant “could and should have changed his plan and his mind at various points” and added the case could be captured by the civil aviation phrase “press-on-itis”.

Scott, of Barnsdale Road, Reading, appeared at Reading Crown Court on Friday, having admitted negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or a person in that aircraft.

The defendant, who had no previous convictions or aviation regulatory breaches on his record, said he had been forced to take early retirement in August from a company that supplied equipment to the nuclear industry due to his type-2 diabetes. 

John Simmons, defending, said Mr Harbor had noted Scott - an experienced pilot who was the leader of a flying group - was “not as switched on” as he usually was and did not think he was fit enough or well enough to fly. 

Mr Simmons added: “Even the biggest aviation disaster can often be broken down into small incidents where, if they had not aligned in the way that they had, they would not have happened in the way that they did.”

The top door catch had come loose during the return journey, causing significant noise in the cabin, while the outward journey had been slowed by strong wind, Mr Simmons said.

“The whole should have been called off, there is no question about that”, Mr Simmons said. “What he should have done is say, ‘Martin, we are a bit late, let’s try another day’.”

Judge Alan Blake, sentencing, said a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) investigation had concluded Scott should not have departed from Blackbushe because there was not time to complete the flight.

“You insisted on reaching your destination out of hours”, the judge said. “Any of the near misses could have resulted in a catastrophic impact.”

But the judge said due Scott’s age, his unblemished character and his history of work he would fine him £1,500, which he would need to pay in 12 months and told him to pay the CAA costs of £1,500.