The pilot of a Cessna aircraft averted injury when the landing gear of his plane failed Monday afternoon and partially landed on its side at the Modesto City-County Airport.

William Brotby, 76, of Sonora, was preparing to land the Cessna Skymaster at the airport at approximately 2:15 p.m. when he suspected something was amiss with the retractable landing gear. He notified the air traffic control personnel and was directed to fly by the tower for a visual observation. Everything appeared normal and the plane was cleared to land. When the plane set down on the runway the rear wheels were not locked into place and plane veered off to the south side of the northern runway. 

Sharon Bear, a spokeswoman with the Modesto Police Department, said the Federal Aviation Administration and The National Transportation Safety Board are not investigating as nobody was injured. Instead, the hard landing is being handled as an incident of property damage.

Photos of the plane released by Modesto Fire Department did not show the plane sustained much damage.