Aussie pilot pulls up for a pint

A pilot in Western Australia was being questioned by police today after he steered his propeller-driven plane down the street on his way to the local pub.

The aircraft made quite the scene in the mining town of Newman, where police were seen questioning the pilot (Photo: Twitter)

Locals in Newman, WA, were stunned when they saw a Beechcraft two-seater aircraft chugging down the main street, before pulling up at the local pub, according to reports in the local press.

Adding to the spectacle was the fact that the plane didn’t have any wings.

“On the way back through town, here’s a plane parked outside the Purple Pub,” Newman resident Beau Woolcock told ABC radio.

“Even more special was seeing one of the local coppers poking his head in the door of the plane looking like he was asking for a licence.”

“It was a pretty stupid thing to do,” Newman police sergeant Mark McKenzie told reporters, saying the propeller was running and it needed to be steered by foot pedals.

“It was not clear why it had no wings. Kids were coming home from school. It could have been very ugly. All he needed was one gust of wind because without the wings, it’s not stable.

“People think it was a bit of a laugh but it was very dangerous and we’re not very happy with it.”

The West Australian newspaper said staff at the pub had dubbed the man a “legend”.

Police said they were investigating whether he had committed an offence, given the plane did not leave the ground or cause any traffic accidents and the man passed a breath-test at the scene.

Officer Mark Garner is quoted in The Decan C“I need to look at what the appropriate offence would be as it’s a bit of an unusual one,” .