Small plane makes safe emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport
The twin-engine aircraft with two aboard had problems with its nose landing gear.
A twin-engine plane with two people aboard landed safely at Van Nuys Airport after an equipment failure forced the plane to return to the airport from which it departed earlier this morning.
The Cessna 310 flown by a private citizen reported difficulty with its landing gear just after 11 a.m., said Harold Johnson, an airport spokesman. It landed safely about 12:20 p.m., with both passengers walking away from the plane. It landed on both rear landing wheels and, before it came to a stop, plopped down on its nose.
After the plane departed Van Nuys earlier this morning, the pilot, while preparing for a landing in Camarillo, realized the nose landing gear would not fully deploy, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
The plane flew over the Valencia area for less than an hour to burn off its remaining 80 gallons of fuel before landing.
Wagner is a Times staff writer.
james.wagner@latimes.com
