A plane was forced to land without using its landing gear at the Red Deer Airport on Saturday.
Graham Ingham, Red Deer Airport chief executive officer, said incidents like this emergency landing, which involved no injuries, are always scary.
“Fortunately, they were a really well-trained crew – these are the things they train for and have a lot of experience. The outcome was the best that it possibly could be.
“The emergency response was well-handled and well-executed by everybody, including the county fire crew and everyone else involved,” said Ingham.
Ingham estimated there were four people on board the plane.
Robert Beard, of Red Deer, was watching the incident with a friend from across a field on Township Road 374, near the C&E Trail.
“We got here and noticed the plane tried to land and took off again. I noticed it only had two of three landing gears down,” said Beard.
“We were concerned that this could actually be something serious. I thought it can’t be too serious if the fire department isn’t out there, and then two minutes later, the fire department was sitting out there waiting.”
Beard said the plane later returned with all its landing gear up and slid along the runway in an emergency landing.
“I was getting kind of nervous and worried for the people in the plane. I’m sure for them it would be terrifying,” he said.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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