A malfunction in the landing gear of a chartered Sea Flight plane from St. Croix shut down the Cyril E. King Airport for more than a half hour Monday as ground crews rushed to evacuate passengers and fix the plane.
None of the five passengers or two crew members of the Cessna Caravan aircraft were hurt, and the problem was quickly repaired, said V.I. Port Authority spokeswoman Monifa Marrero.
"The landing gear did not depress as usual," she said. "It was a minor incident that held up operations only for a short while."
Several flights of major airlines, including U.S. Airways and Delta, were delayed on the runways. At least one inbound American Airlines flight was forced to circle above until the runway was cleared, Marrero said.
Sea Flight is an on-demand charter company based on St. Croix that has been flying interisland between St. Croix and St. Thomas since 2007.
