A man and a female friend walked away without injury Sunday after their single-engine plane skidded down the Oceanside Airport runway, police said.
The plane left the airport in the 400 block of Airport Road at around noon Sunday headed to Catalina, according to the pilot, said Sgt. Tom Wayer of the Oceanside Police Department.
Before taking off, the pilot checked the fuel gauge, which showed the tank to be full. But while over the ocean, the gauge indicated there was no fuel, the sergeant said, so he headed back to the airport for an emergency landing.
The pilot said there was either a landing gear malfunction or he forgot to lower the gear and the plane landed on the runway on its belly. The plane ended up partially off the end of the runway.
Oceanside Fire Department personnel and paramedics arrived at the scene, but the plane landed intact, Wayer said.
– City News Service