A small private airplane came in low and scraped onto the runway at St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport yesterday afternoon, landing without its landing gear deployed in what pilots call a belly landing. A local TV crew captured the touchdown on video, and the footage has since circulated online. Officials have not yet released a full account of the plane’s make, registration, how many people were on board, or whether anyone was injured.
Video published by the on-runway skid shows the aircraft touching down at PIE, and the station reports the incident occurred Sunday afternoon. The clip is the first local broadcast footage identified of the landing. In its initial report, WTSP did not include a cause or a full inventory of injuries or damage.
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