Beech Baron: Hard Landing Shuts Down Runway. John Wayne-Orange County Airport (KSNA) Santa Ana, California.

Airport runway closed after plane's hard landing

The runway used by private aircraft is expected to reopen in the next hour, officials said.

One John Wayne Airport runway is temporarily closed after a plane had a hard landing Saturday afternoon.

The general-aviation runway has been shut down because a private plane landed with its nose gear up, meaning its front wheel was not extended.

The five people who were on board the Beechcraft Baron are safe, airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said.

The main runway that handles commercial airlines has not been affected, Wedge said.

The general-aviation runway is expected to reopen by 6 p.m., she said, after the plane is towed from the runway.

This is the second time this week that a private plane has had problems with its nose gear at John Wayne's short runway. On Thursday afternoon, the nose gear of a Cessna 172 collapsed as the plane landed. Two people were on board but were not injured.

 

A private plane hit the ground hard today, closing a runway.

Everyone was safe on the ground at John Wayne Airport Saturday afternoon after a private plane's nose gear failed to descend upon landing.

Airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said the Federal Aviation Administration will likely investigate the cause of the malfunction.

The accident, which happened at about 4:30 p.m., is not affecting commercial flights, which take off from the main runway that is unaffected by closure.

Wedge said at about 5:30 p.m. Orange County Firefighters from the airport's on-site OCFA station were preparing to haul the plane away.

Sources:

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KSNA

http://lagunaniguel.patch.com

http://www.ocregister.com