A rare and historic water bomber that was on its final journey from British Columbia to a museum in Arizona was forced to make an emergency landing near Victoria due to mechanical issues.
The Victoria Airport Authority confirmed the Philippine Mars, one of two remaining aircraft of its kind, had to land at the airport’s water aerodrome at Patricia Bay on Sunday due to mechanical problems.
Brentwood Bay, B.C., resident John Harper is with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue and was on the water nearby when the coast guard warned boaters of the plane making an “emergency landing.”
Harper says the plane landed at around 1:20 p.m. on Sunday then spent about 40 minutes “doing circles” in the water before being moored.
He says that only three of the four engines on the plane were running when it landed on the water.
The aircraft owned by Coulson Aviation, …