Plane lands safely despite problem
A twin-engine plane with two people aboard landed safely at Van Nuys Airport after an equipment failure forced the plane to return to the airport after taking off Tuesday morning.
The pilot of the privately owned Cessna 310 reported landing gear difficulty just after 11 a.m., said Harold Johnson, an airport spokesman.
The plane landed safely about 12:20 p.m., and both passengers walked away from it. It landed on both rear landing wheels and, before it came to a stop, plopped down on its nose.
After the plane departed Van Nuys earlier that morning, the pilot, while preparing for a landing in Camarillo, realized the nose landing gear would not fully deploy, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
The plane flew over the Valencia area for less than an hour to burn off its remaining 80 gallons of fuel before landing.
-- James Wagner
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