An experienced pilot from Fairborn who was flying a plane he had recently purchased had to make a belly-landing Tuesday evening at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport when the landing gear failed.
Michael Botwin, 67, wasn't injured, but his 1994 single-engine Buesing Lowell Lancair 320 sustained damage to its propeller and belly when he landed it on Runway 24, Springfield firefighter Randy Lisch said.
The plane was towed to a hangar at the airport and the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it will investigate the failure. A spokesman with the FAA said the investigation could take several weeks to complete and no information about the findings will be available until that inquiry is done.
Fire crews were dispatched shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday on a report of an emergency landing at the airport on Ohio 794, according to Lisch.
Botwin was alone in the two-seater, had taken it up for a spin and was attempting to bring it in when the landing gear wouldn't operate, said Lisch, who noted that Bo-twin told authorities he had recently purchased the plane.
Lisch said the plane skidded about 1,000 feet, but no fire or fuel leak occurred.
According to the FAA registry, Botwin holds certificates as a transport pilot, a flight instructor and ground instructor.
He told authorities he has been flying for about 40 years, Lisch said.
Crews from Green and Springfield twps., along with airport personnel and the Clark County-Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, also responded to the crash.
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