A harrowing emergency landing ended successfully at Jack Garland Airport around 9:30 this morning.
The North Bay Fire department sent up Station 1 and 2 along with Aircraft Rescue Firefighting vehicles (ARFF). In fact, the crews were already on-scene conducting ARFF training near the airport.
“The pilot notified emergency crews that there was a failure in the plane’s landing gear and that the plane would have to land on the belly of the fuselage,” stated Deputy Fire Chief Greg Saunders.
“The pilot informed us that the plane was at a critical fuel level and needed to land immediately.”
Saunders says the dual engine Piper Navajo plane had two people on board.
“The pilot did a terrific job safely landing the plane without its landing gear,” said Saunders.
“Firefighting personnel safely evacuated the two people on board and extinguished the fire and smoke that had come into the cab of the plane during the landing."
The flight originated from Toronto and was delivering packages for Purolator.
Saunders noted the two people on board were uninjured in the incident.
He adds that Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) is a special category of firefighting that involves the response, hazard mitigation, evacuation and possible rescue of passengers and crew of an aircraft involved in (typically) an airport ground emergency.
