A small aircraft coming in for a landing at Waterbury-Oxford Airport Tuesday about 5:30 p.m. was able to land despite malfunctioning nose gear, according to Fire Chief Scott
Pelletier.
There were no injuries reported.
The pilot called the airport from the air to declare an an emergency and the Oxford Fire Department responded with an engine, a rescue truck and a pumper, Pelletier said.
The pilot circled the tower several times while emergency crews got in place, said Sgt. Dan Semosky, the town’s resident state trooper.
“He landed it without nose gear, and laid it on its belly,” Pelletier said. “We were fortunate. Some of the state fire trucks were there, also monitoring.”
The landing went well, with only a broken propeller. “It was as close to a controlled crash as it gets,” Semosky said.
Semosky identified the pilot as Perry Glas, 69, of Roxbury. He was flying a yellow and white Cessna Cardinal.
Glas and his passenger, a 42-year-old man from Woodbury whose name was not available, were checked by EMS and declined medical treatment, according to Semosky.
As of last night, the plane was in a hangar waiting for Federal Aviation Administration investigators. State Police and airport personnel will also investigate.
