Airplane makes ‘hard landing’ at airport
Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 4, 2016
LaGRANGE — No one was injured after a plane made what officials called a “hard landing” at LaGrange-Callaway Airport about 11 a.m. Thursday.
The pilot, who was the plane’s only occupant, was landing a Beech C23 single-engine plane on runway 31 when he hit the ground, causing the front landing gear to collapse, according to Chad Traylor, airport manager. The plane slid about 100 feet down the runway before coming to a stop.
During the initial landing, the pilot had problems keeping the plane on the ground and it starting bouncing, a witness said.
“He looked like he was on a roller coaster at Six Flags,” the witness said.
Traylor described the incident as “benign,” and the plane was towed from the runway after ground crews received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane’s front landing gear and its propeller were damaged. The runway was not damaged.
According to FAA records, the plane was built in 1973 and is registered to Philip Davis of Katy, Texas. The registration expired Jan. 31. The pilot’s identity was unavailable at the time of this report.
Airport officials contacted the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, Traylor said.
No further information was available at the time of this report.
— This story was updated at Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at 12:45 p.m.