4 rescued after small plane crashes at Mineta San Jose International Airport

MINETA SAN JOSE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KGO) -- A small plane made an emergency landing at Mineta San Jose International Airport this afternoon and the four people on board are uninjured, an airport spokeswoman said.

The four people on board that small plane are very lucky. It could have ended so much worse, had it not been for the pilot's skillful handling of a collapsed landing gear.

The plane took off from the airport in San Jose and was headed to Boeing's headquarters in Washington state, but the pilot noticed something was wrong.

The plane is an Italian made Piaggio P-180 Twin Turbo Prop. The pilot called the tower at around noon, shortly after he took off.

"The call initially came in as an aircraft having difficulty with its landing gear," said San Jose Fire Department Capt. Christian Salcido.

More specifically, the pilot said a part of the landing gear may have collapsed.

"They did fly over a few times to burn down some of the fuel, as well as have the tower do a visual inspection to see if the landing gear was down," said Mineta San Jose Aiport spokesperson Vicki Day.

About 10 minutes later, the pilot landed the plane safely on its belly.

"Once the aircraft stopped moving, we were able to put foam blanket down to ensure no sparks, no fuel were on the ground," Salcido said.

Once they cooled the fuselage, the four people on board, including the pilot, disembarked. Fortunately, no one was injured. The pilot stayed behind, but the passengers were eventually taken off the tarmac in a black SUV.

The plane is registered to a company called Monolithic Power Systems in South San Jose. They declined to comment.