Plane Makes Belly Landing and Shuts Down Sorocaba Airport
Landing gear issues on a Cessna C210 force temporary suspension of operations
On Friday afternoon (4), a small single-engine aircraft landed without landing gear at Bertram Luiz Leupolz State Airport in Sorocaba (SP). The incident caused the temporary closure of the runway, halting all takeoffs and landings for about two hours.
What happened at Sorocaba airport
The aircraft, a Cessna C210 registered as PS-DMM, departed from Americana (SP) and, upon beginning its approach to Sorocaba, experienced a failure in deploying its landing gear. Without the gear down, the plane touched down on its belly and skidded along the runway until coming to a complete stop. The pilot and passenger were uninjured.
How a belly landing works
The term “belly landing” describes an aircraft landing where the landing gear is not deployed, whether due to mechanical failure or an emergency decision made by the pilot. In this scenario, the fuselage makes direct contact with the runway surface, which can cause structural damage to the aircraft, but the procedure is designed to protect lives on board.
Safety procedures and removal
Immediately following the touchdown, the emergency response team from airport concessionaire Rede VOA, together with the Operational Control Center (CCO), cordoned off the runway. The Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) was notified, conducted an initial inspection, and cleared the aircraft for removal. The plane remained on the runway until around 6:00 p.m., when the removal operation was completed.
Impact on airport operations
The runway closure halted takeoff and landing operations for approximately two hours. Bertram Luiz Leupolz State Airport records around 20,000 operations annually, serving as one of the country's primary general aviation airports. The temporary suspension mitigated additional risks until the runway was cleared.
Cenipa investigations
Cenipa continues to examine the causes behind the Cessna C210's landing gear failure. The investigation will adhere to standard Air Force protocols to determine whether the failure stemmed from maintenance issues, component failure, or operational error. The findings will be released in an official technical report.
With information from G1, Folha de S.Paulo, Jornal Cruzeiro do Sul.
Source: G1, Folha de S.Paulo, Jornal Cruzeiro do Sul