PILOT WALKS AWAY FROM CRASH LANDING

A Cape Central Airways pilot was forced to make an emergency landing Monday night at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport after his plane's landing gear failed to engage.

The pilot, Bill Beard of Chaffee, was not injured. No one else was aboard.

Beard said the plane's landing gear failed to come down because of a mechanical failure.

The plane, a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron, landed at 8:27 p.m., 26 minutes after Cape Girardeau police reported they received a call about the emergency. The plane skidded on its belly on the runaway before coming to a stop. Emergency personnel immediately raced to the plane in fire trucks, an ambulance, and police cars.

A Cape Girardeau police officer said the plane skidded 1,079 feet. Airline personnel said damage was restricted to the plane's underside.

Beard circled the airport before the landing to use up as much fuel as possible, according to authorities. He said he shut down the plane's engines before landing so they wouldn't catch fire, as well as to avoid other damage to the engines and props.

One airline employee credited Beard with doing "an excellent job."

Beard said he had picked up some passengers in Perryville Monday morning and had flown them to Lexington, Ky. He said he was returning from Lexington when the emergency occurred.

Beard, who has flown for Cape Central Airways for over six years, said the incident was the first of its type for him. "I've seen other aircraft gear up, but this is the first time for me."

An airport official said the plane was one of the most reliable made.

"These are Cadillacs. Even Cadillacs have accidents," said the official, who asked not to be identified.

After the landing, the plane sat on the runaway with both engines exposed. Late Monday night, the aircraft was towed to a hangar.

At least three city police cars, two fire trucks, an ambulance, and a Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department car responded to the airport emergency.