Community Corner

Broken Landing Gear Forces Belly Landing at John Wayne Airport

Flights were disrupted at John Wayne Airport Thursday when a plane was forced to slide onto the runway without its landing gear.

The pilot of twin-engine Beechcraft made a belly landing at John Wayne Airport today, interrupting flight operations but injuring no one. 

The nose gear on the Beechcraft BE55 collapsed as its pilot tried to land about 10:30 a.m.,  Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration said. 

The pilot brought the plane down on its belly, Jenny Wedge of John Wayne Airport said. 

Find out what's happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The runway was closed for about an hour as workers brought in a crane to move the plane to a maintenance facility at the airport, Wedge said. 

Seven arriving flights were initially diverted to Ontario or Los Angeles International Airport, then allowed to return to John Wayne Airport to land, Wedge said. One departing flight was delayed, she said. 

Find out what's happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

- City News Service


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