Hydraulic problem led to belly landing

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

A preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board seems to confirm an initial observation about the emergency landing of a corporate jet at McCarran International Airport earlier this month -- the belly-landing may have been the result of a leaking hydraulic system.

The system controls the landing gear.

The pilot reported on Aug. 17 about 6 p.m. that he couldn't get the landing gear of his Beech Hawker aircraft to operate.

A short time later the plane made a dramatic belly landing. Video of that landing was shown on national news shows.

The pilot, co-pilot and family of six aboard the aircraft were not injured.

The pilot, who has not been identified, reported that 10 minutes after leaving a Salina, Kan., airport -- a fueling stopover on a trip that originated in New Jersey and was destined for Las Vegas -- the left hydraulic low-flow light came on.

Investigators found after the landing that red fluid was leaking from the hydraulic system.

John Hanks, McCarran spokesman, said the pilot made a textbook "emergency wheels up, belly landing."

The pilot burned up most of the fuel aboard by flying around extra time prior to landing. When he landed, Hanks said, the pilot "brought it down and cut the engines 30 feet above the runway, cutting off all the electrical. When he finally touched down there was very little chance of starting a fire, except from sparks created from the landing."

The family in the plane included Don and Dawn Paparone and their four children of Cherry Hill, N.J.

The plane is owned by Paparone's construction company.