Tyler

By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer

A pilot remained in the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport Wednesday afternoon after his Beachcraft 35 B airplane made an emergency landing.

Airport Manager Davis Dickson said the landing occurred at about 1 p.m. after the possible failure of landing gear.

The pilot was headed to Mount Vernon, his base, and had planned to stop in Tyler and have work done on the plane’s navigational system, he said.

“(There were) no injuries. We’re very thankful…,” Dickson said, adding that the pilot “was a little bit shaken up,” but doing OK.

Although there was no damage to airport facilities, he said the airplane was damaged on its undercarriage.

At least two Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Trucks were with the plane on Wednesday afternoon as the airplane blocked two runways.

Dickson said that even with two runways blocked, the flight schedules were being maintained.

The airport averages 200 to 250 operations a day, he said, and this incident was “very rare.”

Dickson said the pilot flying the plane had “flown for a long time” and “had a lot of experience.”

Updated Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008 at 4:20 p.m. CDT