A small plane made a crash landing at the Santa Maria Airport on Thursday morning, but the sole occupant was not injured and the resulting fuel-spill was quickly mopped up.
Around 10:30 a.m., the landing gear of a twin-engine Beechcraft failed to activate, and it skidded to a halt on the runway.
Firefighters sprayed a blanket of foam on the spilled fuel to suppress the fumes and prevent a fire, said county fire Capt. Eli Iskow, a department spokesman. He did not release the name of the pilot.
Iskow said the department recently added a fourth firefighter to its station at the Santa Maria Airport to comply with new regulations set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration.