U.S. Navy plane makes belly landing

Twenty-five people on board are uninjured

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Dramatic landing
Aug. 15: A U.S. Navy plane landed safely today without landing gear in Norfolk, Virginia. Hardball host Chris Matthews has details and dramatic footage of the emergency landing.

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updated 11:33 p.m. ET Aug. 15, 2005

NORFOLK, Va. - A Navy plane skidded to a safe landing Monday after circling Norfolk Naval Station for two hours because its landing gear would not deploy.

The 25 people on board the twin-engine C-2 A Greyhound, including two pilots and four crew members, were unharmed as the plane ground to a halt.

The aircraft left Norfolk Monday evening and pilots immediately noticed a malfunction with the landing gear, Atlantic Fleet Naval Air Force spokesman Mike Maus said.

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After circling at length, while trying to fix the gear and burn fuel, the pilots were forced to land, with the arresting cable on the runway catching the tail hook to slow the plane.

“There’s not enough that can be said about what this crew did ... to get this aircraft back on the ground safely,” Maus said.

The plane was headed to Pensacola, Fla., where the crewmen were to train for aircraft carrier landings.

Maus said the malfunction is under investigation.