OCEANSIDE, Calif. (CNS) — A man and a woman were unhurt Sunday after their single-engine plane skidded down the Oceanside Airport runway without landing gear, police said.
The plane left the airport in the 400 block of Airport Road at around noon Sunday headed to Catalina, the pilot told authorities, said Sgt. Tom Wayer of the Oceanside Police Department.
Before taking off, the pilot checked the fuel gauge, which showed the tank to be full, but while over the ocean, the gauge indicated there was no fuel, the sergeant said. So he headed back to the airport for an emergency landing.
The pilot said there was either a landing gear malfunction or he forgot to lower the landing gear and the plane landed on the runway on its belly, Wayer said. The plane skidded and ended up partially off the end of the runway.
Oceanside Fire Department personnel and paramedics arrived at the scene, but the plane landed intact and the pilot and his friend were not injured, Wayer said.
