In 1983 a Mexican pilot on a transatlantic flight from Newark to Munich, running dangerously low on fuel made an emergency landing on Mallow Racecourse in Cork. Captain Rubén Ocaña was flying a Gulfstream II executive jet on April 18, 1983 when his instruments showed it was running dangerously low on fuel.
His plan had been to refuel at Shannon, but thick fog made that impossible. With air traffic control guiding him, Ocaña scanned the countryside for a flat enough stretch of land. He located Mallow Racecourse against the odds, set down the plane on the grass.
Fuel Emergency
As the aircraft diverted south toward Cork, the situation worsened further when the crew declared they no longer had enough fuel to reach the airport safely. Controllers at Shannon then worked together using local geographical knowledge to identify a possible emergency landing site, ultimately selecting Mallow Racecourse as the best available option.
Shannon Air Traffic Controller heroes
With fuel rapidly running out, Captain Ruben Ocana and his crew were guided toward the unmarked location and succeeded in landing safely on the grass surface of the racecourse in what has since become one of the most remarkable emergency landings in Irish aviation history.
The aircraft remained at the racecourse for several weeks while a temporary runway was constructed to facilitate its departure. No injuries were reported and the aircraft sustained minimal damage.
Soft Ground Dilemma
The immediate danger was over but now the multimillion dollar Gulfstream jet was stuck. The ground was too soft to take off again, not just during the current weather but like ever again. There was even talk the jet might have to be dismantled and carted away piece by piece.
Captain Ocaña was accompanied by three crew members and four passengers, posh businessmen including Emilio Azcarraga-Milmo, who was the high-profile owner of Televisa, Mexico’s largest television network. The Mexican TV four were whisked away to complete their journey shortly after the landing. Captain Ocaña and his crew had to await orders.
Wealthy insurers quickly did the maths and found it was cheaper to build a temporary runway than to take the yoke apart. Local men and women were hired, machinery was brought in, and a 3,000-foot tarmac strip began to take shape beside the racecourse ( oh and the local sugar factory). It took around six weeks. During that time, the charismatic Mexican Captain Ocaña and his crew became honorary Corkonians and were treated with the great hospitality of the Rebel County.
They Joined “The Rakes of Mallow”
They were put up at the Central Hotel, Captain Ocaña was a regular at hurling matches, and even served as a judge for the “Rakes of Mallow” Beauty Contest (that Rakes polka festival is a fascinating rabbithole in itself btw).
By the time the makeshift runway was ready 39 days later, the jet had become a local landmark. Kids cycled out to see it and tourists came to take photographs, postcards were even printed.
When the day finally came for takeoff, around two thousand people gathered to see Captain Rubén Ocaña and his crew off. Before stepping aboard, he offered a few words as Gaeilge them they lifted safely into the air, and circled twice above the town in salute before vanishing into the clouds. The legendary event inspired the 2010 film The Runway,
Captain Ocañas Final Return to Mallow
Captain Ocañas adventure was commemorated forty years later with Ocaña Fest in April 2023 which featured an air show, Mexican mariachi music, and a screening of original footage captured by local enthusiast Alan Wilson.
The weekend reached a poignant conclusion when Ocaña’s four daughters fulfilled their father’s final wish by scattering his ashes at the racecourse, marking a permanent return to the town that had welcomed him with such extraordinary hospitality decades earlier.
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