Gear jam forces crash landing

A light plane carrying two people was forced to make an emergency landing at Hawkes Bay Airport yesterday after the front wheel leg failed to extend.

The twin-engine Air Napier Piper Seneca landed on its belly on grass beside the runway, leaving the male pilot and female passenger shaken but unhurt, the airline said.

As emergency services stood by, the pilot carried out a textbook wheels-up landing.

Chief executive Gary Peacock said the aircraft was flying freight from Palmerston North to Napier.

He said it was the second time the wheel leg had failed and forced the 18-year-old aircraft to make an emergency landing.

The pilot radioed to say the leg was stuck while attempting a landing at Wairoa, where the plane had been diverted because of fog. He was ordered to Napier, where he circled for an hour before the fog lifted to allow the wheel-less landing at 8.30am.

The passenger told Mr Peacock the landing, which damaged the front propellers, was "smoother than a normal landing".

Two fire engines and an airport emergency crew were on standby.

The first time the problem occurred was in the early 1990s.

Mr Peacock said the plane would be repaired and returned to service.