LOS ANGELES " A small plane, registered to a Carson City firm, with a dangling nose gear glided to a safe landing Tuesday at Van Nuys Airport and both people aboard appeared uninjured.
The twin-engine Cessna 310 was heading from the San Fernando Valley airport to Camarillo when the pilot realized the nose gear had only partially deployed and decided to turn back, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot flew around for about an hour to use up fuel as a safety precaution before attempting a landing.
Shortly before 12:30 p.m., the plane descended fast toward the field. Moments before touchdown, the pilot shut down both engines, then cranked each propeller to near horizontal position, apparently to keep them from striking the runway. The craft bounced on its main wheels and then gently nosed down. The dangling gear collapsed and the plane skidded a short distance, its nose scraping, until it stopped.
The pilot and passenger then got out and appeared uninjured.
The tail number showed the plane was registered to Jade Aviation Services Inc. of Carson City according to the FAA registry Web site.
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