No one was hurt after the front landing gear of this aircraft collapsed while landing at Castle Airport on Sunday, according to Cal Fire.
PHOTO: Merced County Fire Department/Cal Fire.
ATWATER -- No one was hurt Sunday afternoon after the front landing gear of a plane collapsed after landing at Castle Airport.
The incident was reported shortly after 3 p.m. after the small twin-engine aircraft landed at Castle, according to Gabriel Santos, spokesman for Merced County Fire Department/Cal Fire.
After landing, the landing gear collapsed and the plane traveled for about 100 yards before coming to a stop. The plane came to a rest with its nose pointing downward, Santos said.
Firefighters and emergency personnel responded to the scene, but the two instructors traveling in the plane weren’t hurt. No fire was reported during the incident.
Santos said the incident is an example of why the tower is necessary at the airport. Santos said the tower was able communicate with two planes in the air, to notify them about the situation on the ground.
The tower was also able to quickly notify firefighters and emergency personnel. "Thankfully the tower was staffed and available to assist with reporting the incident," Santos said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Traffic Safety Board were both notified about the incident, Santos said. Castle's tower is on a list of 149 control towers at small airports nationwide that are slated to be closed because of federal government-wide spending cuts.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday announced it was putting off the closure of the airport towers until mid-June. FAA officials said they need more time to deal with legal challenges to the closures.
Story and Photo: http://www.mercedsunstar.com
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