BILLINGS - An aircraft made an emergency landing at Billings Logan International Airport on Tuesday morning after losing power after take off.
Jeff Roach, the director of aviation and transit at the airport, said the incident happened at about 8 a.m. when a twin-engine King Air aircraft departed the airport and "immediately lost all power."
The pilot declared an emergency, Roach said, and returned to land on the airport's main runway.
"Due to the power loss, the pilot attempted to lower the landing gear manually, but it did not lock in place and the aircraft landed with the gear in the retracted position," Roach said in an email to Q2 News.
The aircraft, registered to a company out of Pocatello, Idaho, was occupied by one pilot and one passenger, both of whom were not injured, Roach said.
Airport emergency crews responded and coordinated with the Air Traffic Control Tower and the National Transportation Safety Board. Additionally, Edwards Jet Center and Hanser’s Automotive responded and assisted with the removal of the aircraft and the runway was opened back up at approximately 10: 30 a.m.
"Unfortunately, due to the runway closure a few minor aircraft delays did occur," Roach said.
A similar event happened on March 7 when the pilot of a smaller aircraft "inadvertently landed with the landing gear retracted," Roach said.
That incident resulted in an approximately one-hour runway closure while the aircraft was moved off the runway. The pilot was the only person onboard the aircraft and there were no injuries during that event.
