BEVERLY (WBZ-AM) -- There were some tense moments in Beverly Sunday when a young pilot in training realized mid-air that her small plane had lost a wheel.
The 17-year-old student pilot named Maggie was flying solo out of Beverly Airport when she reported her right wheel missing. She called the airport tower for help just after 5 p.m. Sound from LiveATC shows how tower officials and her instructor calmed her down as she circled above the airport.
"Just circle, we're going to get some people out to help you, everything will be okay," a tower operator said.
"Okay," she can be heard replying in a shaky voice.
Despite the scary situation, the teen was able to calmly follow instructions. A man who identified himself as John guided her throughout the flight and landing.
"Just try to relax, and you always heard me say go back to basics, so we're going to work the basics here as much as possible," he said. "I know it's hard to say this, but treat it as much like a normal landing as you can ... keep everything as normal as you can."
Maggie touched down safely less than an hour later, around 6 p.m. The single-engine plane veered off the runway and ended up into a grassy area, and had significant damage, though no injuries were reported.
"Beautiful job Maggie, you got a whole bunch of people clapping for you up here," her instructor told her.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz (@BerniceWBZ) reports