BEVERLY — A corporate jet made an emergency landing at Beverly Airport yesterday afternoon, blowing out its main landing gear tires as it touched down and sending smoke and sparks into the air.
The pilot and co-pilot were the only people on board, and they were not injured, according to police, fire and airport officials.
"The pilots did a fabulous job coming in," said Paul Vitale, chairman of the Beverly Airport Commission.
Vitale said the plane, a Cessna Citation, was heading for Portland, Maine, when it lost power in one of its two engines just after noon. The pilot radioed the air traffic control tower at Beverly Airport and said he was coming in for an emergency landing.
Emergency crews from Beverly, Danvers and Wenham responded and arrived at the airport when the plane was still eight miles away. In addition to losing power in one engine, the plane suffered electrical failure and did not have reverse engine thrust power for braking.
The pilots had to apply a manual emergency brake to stop the jet. Both rear tires were blown out, and the tire rims were destroyed.
Beverly and Danvers fire crews stretched out hose lines as a precaution because of the potential for fire caused by overheated brakes and an overheated battery warning.
There was no further damage to the plane, which Vitale said is valued at $12 million. The airplane is owned by NetJets, a company based in Oklahoma City that provides private jets. It was built in 2006 and was last certified on Feb. 5, 2008, according to airport-data.com.
About 15 emergency vehicles from Beverly, Danvers and Wenham, including fire, police and Northeast Ambulance, responded to the scene. The airport is owned by the city of Beverly and is located in both Beverly and Danvers.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
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