Crime & Safety
Plane Makes Emergency Landing at Lutz Airport
Pasco County Sheriff's Deputies and Pasco Fire Rescue responded to a report of a Cessna 172 having problems with its landing gear around 10:25 a.m.
The pilot of a small plane made an emergency landing Saturday morning at the Tampa North Flight Center in Lutz.
Pasco County Sheriff's Deputies and Pasco Fire Rescue responded to a report of a Cessna 172 having problems with its landing gear around 10:25 a.m.
The pilot had rented the plane and had just taken off from the airport when he noticed the landing gear light was still on. He tried to put the landing gear up, but couldn't, according to Doug Tobin, Pasco County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer.
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The pilot did multiple flyovers at the airport in a continued attempt to get the landing gear up.
"It appeared the landing gear did not go up in the plane, so it was stuck," said Tobin.
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The pilot landed safely using a soft touchdown maneuver in which the back wheels hit the runway first followed by the front wheels.
The pilot was unharmed. His name was not released.
The Tampa North Flight Center is located at 4241 Birdsong Boulevard in Lutz. It is the home of the Wesley Chapel Civil Air Patrol, according to the flight center's website.
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