News Department

Plane lands at Essex County Airport without landing gear engaged; no injuries reported

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, NJ (Essex County) – A plane landed at the Essex County Airport without its landing gear engaged, but fortunately, no injuries were reported, according to police.

On Sunday, January 12, at around 2:21 p.m., police received a 911 call from Essex County Airport in Fairfield Township reporting a “gear-up” landing on the runway, police said.

Fairfield police, fire, and EMS responded to the scene and found the aircraft, a Piper Seminole P-44, stopped on the runway without its landing gear deployed. The plane belongs to Air Fleet Training Systems, which is based at the Essex County Airport, police said.

The instructor, a 31-year-old male from Paterson, NJ, and the student, a 32-year-old male from Elizabeth, NJ, were both uninjured, police said.

“The circumstances surrounding this incident could have been much worse, and these gentlemen are very lucky,” said Public Information Officer Stacy Chiarolanza.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident, police said.

Jay Edwards

Born and raised in Northwest NJ, Jay has a degree in Communications and has had a life-long interest in local radio and various styles of music. Jay has held numerous jobs over the years such as stunt car driver, bartender, voice-over artist, traffic reporter (award winning), NY Yankee maintenance crewmember and peanut farm worker. His hobbies include mountain climbing, snowmobiling, cooking, performing stand-up comedy and he is an avid squirrel watcher. Jay has been a guest on America’s Morning Headquarters,program on The Weather Channel, and was interviewed by Sam Champion.

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