Skidding to a safe landing

Twin-engine Cessna had nose-gear problems; pilot unhurt

The Daily Inter Lake

A small airplane's front landing gear would not work, forcing the twin-engine Cessna 340 to skid several hundred feet on its nose when it landed Sunday evening at Glacier Park International Airport.

Neither the pilot nor a passenger were injured.

The emergency landing closed the airport to air traffic for almost an hour, diverting one Sky West commercial flight elsewhere.

The private plane is based at Glacier Park International and was taken aloft for some routine practice flying, said Rob Ratkowski, airport manager of operations.

The nose landing gear would not drop when the pilot wanted to land, though the two wing wheels did so. The pilot tried to get the nose gear down for roughly a half hour before he touched down at about 6:10 p.m. on the north-south Runway 02, Ratkowksi said. He declined to identify the pilot.

With two wing wheels working, the plane skidded on its nose for roughly 500-700 feet before stopping. There were no flames or apparent major exterior damage to the plane.

Airport workers raised the plane's nose with air bags and hauled it off the runway with an electric tug vehicle. The airport reopened to traffic at 7:05 p.m.

The airport averages three or four landing gear problems with flying aircraft a year, Ratkowski said.

The following agencies responded to the emergency landing: airport staff, the Evergreen Fire Department, the Columbia Falls Fire Department, a Kalispell Fire Department ambulance, the Three Rivers Emergency Service and the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.