Small plane makes hard landing, sustains moderate damage at Palo Alto Airport

A small plane sustained moderate damage after making a hard landing at the Palo Alto Airport on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in a minor fuel leak, according to the Fire Department.

Around 12:15 p.m. crews responded to an emergency at the Palo Alto Airport, located at 1925 Embarcadero Road, according to PulsePoint, an app that displays emergency response calls.

A single-engine Cessna 162 veered left and made a hard landing, nose down, on the runway. The aircraft sustained moderate front-end damage, including to the propeller, and damage to one wing, according to Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally and a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson. One person with minor injuries declined to be transported to a hospital for treatment. About a gallon of aircraft fuel leaked onto the tarmac but it didn’t get into the wetlands.

The aircraft is registered to Fly America Inc. of Portola Valley, according to the FAA aircraft database.

FAA spokesperson Eva Ngai said the pilot was the only person on board. The FAA will investigate the incident.

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