An investigation report found a pilot carrying out his first solo night flight from Newcastle International Airport is said to have mistaken the bustling A1 dual carriageway which runs adjacent for the runway.
The unnamed 72-year-old pilot with just 233 hours of flight experience, misidentified road lights for runway lights according to an incident report, and drifted his plane south of the airport.
While establishing his position upon realising he had lost track of his route, the pilot then allowed the aircraft to approximately 300ft above ground level before realising he was too low and ascended substantially.
