(PINE RIVER, MINNESOTA) – A single-engine plane carrying six people made an emergency landing at Pine River Regional Airport on Sunday after a landing gear malfunction, but everyone aboard walked away unharmed.

The aircraft was a 1984 Beechcraft Bonanza. It carried a 71-year-old pilot from Pella, Iowa, along with five passengers, including three children.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office said the gear failure forced the plane to skid along the runway before it stopped. No injuries were reported among the six people on board.

Airport crews later closed the field briefly while they removed the aircraft and cleared debris from the runway. The shutdown lasted long enough to keep traffic off the airfield while the scene was secured.

The incident involved a privately operated single-engine plane, not a scheduled airline flight. Still, it is the kind of mechanical failure that puts airport response teams to the test within seconds.

Pine River Regional Airport did not report any broader disruption beyond the temporary closure. The plane’s condition after the landing was not detailed publicly, though it had clearly sustained damage in the skid.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the landing gear to fail. The sheriff’s office said the malfunction forced the emergency landing, but the exact trigger has not yet been identified.

Mechanical problems like this are especially serious during landing, when the aircraft is slow and close to the runway. A gear failure can turn a normal arrival into a slide across pavement in an instant.

The Bonanza has long been a familiar private aircraft in general aviation circles. The model dates back decades, and the one involved in Sunday’s incident was built in 1984.

Airport emergencies in smaller markets often draw fast local response because there is little room for delay. Runway closures can ripple through a regional airport’s schedule, even when the incident ends without injury.

Travelers who use small regional airports often see operations restored faster than at major hubs, where runway incidents can create larger traffic backups. Pine River’s closure was temporary, and crews cleared the debris before reopening the field.

The sheriff’s office has not said whether weather, maintenance, or a component failure played a role. That information will come from the continuing investigation.

Anyone flying on a private aircraft should ask about maintenance records, especially on older planes. A preflight check and a clear maintenance history remain the best defense against problems that show up on landing.