Monday, November 1, 2010

Mooney lands gear-up at Orange County

A small plane crash-landed at John Wayne Airport Sunday night October 31, slightly injuring one person and forcing the closure of the airport's main runway (19R) for the better part of an hour.

The accident happened just after 7:30 p.m. The pilot of a Mooney (c/n 25-0698) N6LL single engine aircraft reported the plane's landing gear could not deploy.

According to John Wayne Airport spokesperson Jenny Wedge, the pilot was instructed to 'belly land' on the airport's main runway because it is longer than the airports general aviation runway.

The pilot put the plane down on the runway without its landing gear.

Wedge told KTLA the plane was badly damaged and had to be towed off the main runway.

The pilot, other than a few bumps and bruises, was not seriously injured.

The FAA is now investigating the crash.


(The Daily Pilot / KTLA 5 News)

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