Plane Bounces Off Runway at University Park Airport

A few flights were delayed after a small plane landed hard and went off the runway Wednesday afternoon at University Park Airport.

Four people were aboard the private twin-engine Piper Seneca but no one was injured, a Penn State spokesperson said.

The plane, which according to flight records departed Springfield/Chicopee, Mass. at 11:19 a.m., was cleared for landing by the University Park Airport tower at about 1:20 p.m. The plane bounced several times, collapsing its landing gear and causing it to slide off the runway into the grass.

Hazmat, EMS and fire units were dispatched to the scene as a precaution. No fuel leakage occurred, the spokesperson said.

Airport personnel notified the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, which gave authorization to remove the plane at about 2:15 p.m.

The plane was towed off the runway by about 3 p.m.

The runway was closed to incoming and outgoing planes for about two hours, though the airport remained open and Life Flight helicopter was still able to take off and land.

One inbound flight was diverted and two outbound flights were delayed.