An airplane pilot and passenger escaped unharmed Monday after making an emergency landing at the Butler County Airport.
Airport Manager Roy Uptegraff said the single-engine Piper Arrow touched down without landing gear around 7:30 p.m. after experiencing a landing gear malfunction.
“He couldn’t get the nose gear down,” he said.
The runway was closed for about two hours as emergency crews cleared the aircraft from the runway. The plane had minimal damage. It is based at the Butler airport in Penn Township.
“A gear-up landing is very rare,” he said. “We did have a gear-up landing (at the Butler County Airport) several years ago but that was a pilot error. That wasn’t due to a mechanical error. Monday’s incident was a mechanical error.” Mechanical errors in machinery can cost a lot to rectify which is why they should be properly maintained and equipped with proper parts that can help to curtail incidents like this, like the compact mechanical clutch which can prevent jamming and overload.
Uptegraff says the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. A representative from the FAA’s Pittsburgh office is expected at the airport Tuesday.
Written By: Kayla Molczan
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