Plane’s wheel falls from sky, crashes on Maine golf course. ‘Do you play around it?’

Part of an aircraft’s landing gear fell off in mid flight Tuesday and landed on a golf course in southern Maine.

Specifically, the wheel slammed onto the fairway on the seventh hole at Gorham Country Club in the town of Gorham.

“Just when you thought you have seen everything, things really do fall from the sky,” the Gorham Police Department posted on Facebook.

“There were two miracles in this event. Number one, nobody was struck by this falling object when it fell on the 7th fairway from the sky. Number 2, the plane was able to do a belly landing and landed safely in Islip, New York. (MacArthur Airport-KISP).”

Photos show the wheel and attached strut created an indentation several inches deep, yet managed to stay intact.

The name of the pilot, who was not injured, was not released. The aircraft was identified as a Piper Navajo twin engine.

Gorham Country Club is “Maine’s Friendliest Course,” according to its website. The public course is “just 10 minutes from the Portland Jetport,” the site says.

Course officials called police around 6 p.m. Tuesday to report a chunk of aircraft gear had landed on the fairway, according to the Portland Press Herald. Police estimate the wheel and strut weigh about 100 pounds, the outlet said.

Investigators have not said if any golfers witnessed the fall. The department’s Facebook post has gotten hundreds of reactions and comments, including a lot of “movable obstruction” and “fore” jokes.

“I can just imagine it landing next to someone. I’d have a mini heart attack,” Cory Young wrote.

“Soooo do you play around it or if it lands on the ball do you get a free move?” Scott Stuart posted.

“Does that count as a hazard? Is that a sand trap? Adam Bartow asked.

This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 7:19 AM with the headline "Plane’s wheel falls from sky, crashes on Maine golf course. ‘Do you play around it?’."