A small airplane being flown by an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student suffered major damage after it crashed at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport on Thursday when the landing gear was not deployed.
The student pilot and the flight instructor incurred some scrapes and bruises, but were otherwise uninjured, according to the airport's Executive Director Barney Helmick.
The plane was described as a Diamond Aircraft DA42 NG, with twin turbo-diesel engines and a carbon fiber composite frame.
The propellers slowed the plane down when they hit the asphalt.
The runway had to be shut down for around 90 minutes while fire crews cleared the runway and a U.S. Airways flight delayed boarding for 70 minutes.
Helmick said the asphalt was not damaged during the crash.
"I could see a plane that was on its 'belly,' and fire crews were already on scene," an officer stationed at the airport noted in a police report. "The plane had crashed due to landing gear not being in place at the time of landing."
In April, Embry-Riddle, which is located in Prescott, announced it would be purchasing four of the planes to use as multi-engine trainers for new flight students and planned to begin using them in August.
The base price for the plane is more than $500,000, according to the company's website.
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IDENTIFICATION Regis#: 593ER Make/Model: DA42 Description: DIAMOND DA 42 Date: 12/22/2011 Time: 1929 Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N Damage: Minor LOCATION City: FLAGSTAFF State: AZ Country: US DESCRIPTION AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP, FLAGSTAFF, AZ INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0 # Crew: 2 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: # Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: # Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: OTHER DATA Activity: Unknown Phase: Landing Operation: OTHER FAA FSDO: LAS VEGAS, NV (WP19) Entry date: 12/23/2011