A small trainer aircraft made a belly landing at Oita airport in southwestern Japan on Monday, causing no injuries to the three people aboard but leading to a brief closure of the runway, according to the airport operator.
The twin-propeller Beechcraft Baron G58 touched down at around 10:30 a.m. and the transport ministry later classified the landing as "a serious incident" that could have led to an accident and dispatched two inspectors to investigate.
It is unclear why the landing gear of the light aircraft, owned by Honda Airways Co., failed to lower, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Oita airport office.
At least five flights operated by Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. were canceled due to the shutdown of the runway, while several other flights diverted or were forced to return to Haneda airport in Tokyo, it said.
Aboard the plane was an instructor employed at Honda Airways' Oita office in his 30s as well as one trainee in his 20s and another in his 30s.
The aircraft left the airport around 9:20 a.m. and was scheduled to return an hour later, the airport operator said.
