Passengers Escape Injury In Plane Skid

There was drama away from the racing front at Haydock on Saturday when a plane carrying Richard Hannon, his apprentice Gary Mahon, Anna Lisa Balding and Hannon's twin brother Henry skidded on landing at the racecourse airfield and collided with a stationary aircraft. Nobody was injured in the incident which caused significant damage to the plane's wing but the passengers were understandably left shaken by the experience. “It was horrible,” Richard Hannon told Racing Post. “The runway wasn't suitable – we slipped and skidded. But we're all okay and that's the most important thing. I don't think the planes are in very good nick now. I feel sorry for the pilot [Brian Hamilton] as he's a very good pilot who doesn't take chances. We've been using him for years and he's top class,” the trainer said. Summing up the incident Haydock's clerk of the course Kirkland Tellright added, “The bigger plane coming in skidded on landing, apparently spun and clipped the smaller plane. No one was hurt, but neither plane will be flying today.” There was a further postscript to events when Frankie Dettori and George Scott, who were supposed to fly by Helicopter from Kempton to Haydock for Dettori to partner Scott's James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) in the G1 Sprint Cup, were unable to land at Haydock resulting in Richard Kingscote deputising for Dettori aboard Bill and Tim Gredley's colt.