Small homebuilt plane lands safely in Texas after pilot fixes landing gear mid-air
Published on Nov 05, 2025 at 1:39 PM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Nov 05, 2025 at 5:31 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A Velocity XLRG-5 was forced to make an emergency landing in Texas as fire crews scrambled and onlookers held their breath.
The small homebuilt plane was circling Amarillo’s Rick Husband International Airport with a problem no pilot wants mid-air.
Down below, trucks were staged and radios were live as staff worked to prevent disaster.
Whilst up in the cockpit, one man was trying to solve it with only a few thousand feet to spare.
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The moment the Velocity XLRG-5 pilot took control
It all kicked off late Monday morning in Amarillo, Texas, when fire crews got a call warning them that a small Velocity XLRG-5 plane might have to make an emergency landing.
The two-seater had left Kansas City earlier that day, but halfway through the trip the pilot realized the landing gear was refusing to come down.
As if that wasn’t stressful enough, his radio started glitching.
So now he had a wobbly plane and no easy way to talk to anyone.
Down below, firefighters lined the runway with trucks and hoses, waiting for whatever might happen next.
While the plane circled low and slow, the pilot pulled out his phone and called the manufacturer.
They walked him through how to drop the gear by hand – a total ‘turn it off and on again’ moment, except this time it was 5,000 feet up.
After a few cautious laps around the airport, the firefighters could finally see the wheels were down and locked.
Moments later, just after 1pm, the Velocity touched down smooth as butter.
For something that started like a movie disaster scene, it ended like a masterclass in keeping calm.
Turns out, this was one flight where switching to airplane mode would’ve been a terrible idea.
Not the only pilot to keep calm under pressure
It’s not the first time a quick-thinking pilot has turned an emergency into a story worth telling.
In San Diego, a Cessna pilot landed on just 10 feet of hard sand after his engine died mid-air.
Touching down safely on Mission Beach with his daughter beside him.
And when JetBlue Flight 292’s captain managed to land with the nose gear stuck sideways, his calm control turned what looked like disaster into one of the most flawless emergency landings.
From big jets to homebuilt planes, these moments prove that while tech keeps evolving, nothing beats the instincts of a steady pilot when things go sideways.
Because sometimes the real flight test isn’t in the air, it’s keeping your cool when equipment starts to fail.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
