A small corporate jet made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport on Wednesday afternoon with its landing gear up, according to airport officials.
DIA said on Twitter at 3:23 p.m. that the plane had landed and all passengers were safely evacuated.
The Hawker Beechcraft H25B plane with three people on board departed from Centennial Airport about 11 a.m. and soon after reported a problem with its landing gear, officials said.
The FAA said the plane blew a tire and damaged the hydraulic system on takeoff.
The aircraft circled the airport for several hours to burn fuel in preparation for a landing.
Fire, police and emergency medical officials stood by to await the plane’s arrival.
In a statement, DIA officials said that after the landing, the Denver Fire Department responded to the aircraft and extinguished smoke and a small fire underneath the center of the aircraft.
Officials added that the aircraft is currently on runway 34L, north of taxiway WD. Runway 34L is closed, but the rest of the airport is open and aircraft are operating on five of six runways at DIA.
At the time of the incident, other aircraft continued to operate on the three runways located on the east airfield.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, officials said.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or
