Gear fails on plane taking off at RDU with two onboard, no injuries reported

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A runway at Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU) is closed until further notice after the pilot reported a gear failed during takeoff. There were two people on the general aviation aircraft when it happened, RDU says. No injuries were reported.

The incident happened around 2:15 p.m. Sunday.

Video from Chopper11 showed the aftermath of the scene as emergency crews worked to remove the aircraft from the runway.

According to records from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the plane was a 45-year-old Beechcraft owned by Chapel Hill-based Raleigh Flying Club LLC, which provides planes via membership to area pilots as well as flight lessons with RDU flight instructors.


According to RDU, the disabled aircraft is impacting runway 5R-23L and it will remain closed until the plane is towed off. Meanwhile, RDU says runway 5L-23R is open and operating.




The aircraft problem comes less than a month after an American Airlines flight headed to Connecticut made an emergency landing at RDU due to a report of smoke inside the plane. The Boeing 737 had to be towed to the gate so passengers could exit.

In May, a JetBlue plane made an emergency landing overnight and hours later the pilot of a small aircraft had to make a crash landing because of a landing gear problem.


In April, a passenger landed a small plane at RDU after the pilot suffered a medical emergency. ABC11 learned days later that it was a prominent Duke University professor who passed away after suffering a medical emergency while at the controls of an airplane flying over the Triangle.