MT. VERNON — There were a few tense hours Saturday morning at the Outland Airport in Mt. Vernon as the pilot of a twin-engine Piper aircraft radioed he was having trouble with the landing gear of his plane.

After more than three hours of working on the problem and allowing most of the planes fuel to be used, the pilot successfully made a successful emergency landing around noon at the airport.

The plane landed on its belly but surprisingly there were no sparks and the plane slowly skids to a safe stop.

According to reports from the Mt. Vernon Fire Department, an emergency had been declared and both the Mt. Vernon and Jefferson Rural Fire Department’s along with Mt. Vernon Police and Litton’s Ambulance Service staged for an emergency landing.

The response to the emergency was limited to only local authorities as the partial federal government shutdown prevented the FAA from sending anyone to the airport to investigate the emergency landing.