Firefighters were called to the Merced Regional Airport on Macready Drive near Grogan Avenue just before 6:00 pm. They say a pilot was practicing touch and go landings in a single engine Cessna when his landing gear had a mechanical failure. It collapsed when hitting the runway, and the plane skidded to a stop on its belly.
One injury was initially reported, but the first responders soon discovered no one was hurt.
The incident shut down the airport for about two hours, forcing a Great Lakes flight to wait in Visalia until the plane could be removed from the scene.
