Photo courtesy of LBFD spokesman Mark Miller.
The pilot of a twin engine plane made an emergency, gear-up landing at the Long Beach Airport Thursday afternoon after experiencing mechanical issues.
The unidentified pilot, who was the only person on board, was not injured during the touch down that took place at about 3:00PM, said airport spokeswoman Cassie Chauvel.
The incident began when the pilot of the small aircraft informed the LGB tower of mechanical problems and circled for about 20 minutes in an attempt to fix the issue, said Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) spokesman Mark Miller. The pilot was unable to solve the issue and instead landed without the plane’s rear landing gear completely lowered.
The pilot was able to land safely and walk away from the plane, Miller said. There was no fire or fuel spill but authorities were still on the runway Thursday afternoon in search of any major damage to the road.
Authorities did not say what airport the pilot departed from or the original destination.