Local

Small plane makes belly landing at North Carolina airport

MANTEO, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say a small plane made a belly landing at a coastal airport, and the two people onboard escaped serious injury.

A statement from Dare County Emergency Management on Wednesday said the pilot was attempting an emergency landing at Dare County Regional Airport when the plane hit the runway hard and slid into the grass, damaging its landing gear.

The Dare County Sheriff's Office confirmed the crash occurred just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol said in a statement that a 23-year-old student pilot, Balpreet S. Chahal of Leesburg, Virginia, suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The statement says 32-year-old instructor pilot Jenny Hawk of Manns Harbor wasn't hurt.