The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

An airplane attempts to land last Sunday afternoon at the Camdenton Memorial Airport after having problems with the landing gear. The pilot was unsure if the nose wheel landing gear was locked in place. The only way to answer the question was to try and land and see what happens. (Reporter photo by Dale Johnson)

Published April 29, 2015

Airport drama ends safely

By Dale Johnson
CAMDENTON – Tensions were running high late Sunday afternoon when a potential disaster at the Camdenton Memorial Airport turned into a normal landing.

An airplane radioed in that they were having problems with their landing gear. Two of the wheels were showing that they were down and locked but the nose wheel landing gear was in doubt.

“He went through the emergency procedures, the hand pump and all that and it wouldn’t come down so he’s been out doing dives and putting g-loads on it to get it down,” an airport spokesman said. “But the problem is he’s showing two green (lights) which shows his mains are down and locked but the nose gear isn’t showing it’s down and locked.”

A pass over the airport runway appeared to show all three landing gear down but that doesn’t mean everything is okay.

“If you don’t get a light you don’t know if it’s locked,” the spokesman said. “So it’s better to have emergency personnel on the scene just in case.”

There were two on board the plane, a pilot, a passenger and in addition to that, the plane was carrying three hours of fuel.

Emergency personnel from Camdenton and Mid-County Fire Protection District were quickly on scene along with Camdenton police and a Camden County Sheriff’s deputy.

A Camden County Ambulance District unit also arrived on the scene as a precaution.

Once they were in place it was time to land.

The photograph shows the plane seconds before the gear touched down. Once on the ground the word quickly came that the nose wheel didn’t collapse so it must be locked in place.

The plane stopped at the end of the runway in front of the emergency vehicles for a brief time.

In the end it all turned into a routine landing with a bit of added drama.

“I’d rather have everybody here and nothing happen than the opposite,” the spokesman said.

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