Hanging out of a small plane 4,000 feet in the air, a brave passenger pulled its faulty rear wheels into place and averted a crash landing.
Three other passengers gripped the legs of Brian Howson, 51, as he lowered himself out of the single-engine Cessna, the West Australian newspaper said Friday.Howson hung upside down for several minutes as he hooked a leather belt onto the landing mechanism and locked the wheels into place.
"It was something I had to do, but I'm happy it is over now," Howson said.
Thursday's incident happened soon after the plane took off from Port Hedland, 800 miles north of Perth.
The pilot found that the plane's rear wheels had not retracted properly and would not lock back down when he decided to return to Port Hedland.
Howson volunteered to fix the problem after ground controllers suggested the wheels could be corrected manually.
The aircraft landed safely after circling for several hours to burn off fuel.