No injuries were reported after a tricky landing at the Vernal Regional Airport
on Friday in the late afternoon
. According to Vernal Regional Airport Manager Doug Brown, an individual and his instructor were in the air practicing and training when they discovered a malfunction on the nose landing gear. “It would not lock into place and when they realized that, they started circling the airport for about half an hour to 45 minutes,” shares Brown. “They were able to forewarn the airport operator and the airport maintenance technician called Vernal City Fire Department and Gold Cross ambulance to be on standby for the landing.” When the pilot brought the plane down he was able to land the plane utilizing the main landing gear. Minimal damage occured with the nose coming to a stop on the runway. “Everything went as smooth as it possibly could,” says Brown. “We were able to get the runway cleared and operational with minimal impact on operations.” The incident was reported to the FAA as is required and a follow up investigation will take place.
photo credit: Geoff Liesik
