A private, single-engine airplane veered off the runway and into a grassy field upon landing Saturday at Durango-La Plata County Airport, causing a two-hour pause in all incoming and outgoing flights.

The incident occurred about 12:40 p.m. and involved a Mooney aircraft carrying two people.

No one was injured in the incident, but the plane sustained moderate damage, said DRO Aviation Director Tony Vicari. The aircraft was en route from Farmington.

“There was some moderate damage to the landing gear and engine,” Vicari said. “And so the aircraft was not ultimately able to be easily moved.”

The crash caused airport staff to completely shutdown the runway until 2:41 p.m. Saturday because the plane was located in the runway safety area – the surrounding area of a runway that provides a graded surface to reduce the risk of damage to aircraft in the event of an excursion.

Vicari said it is dangerous and against Federal Aviation Administration regulations to operate the runway when there is an aircraft located in the runway safety area.

It is unclear what caused the plane to leave the runway, Vicari said. It was also unknown if the incident constituted an emergency landing caused by weather or mechanical issues.

“It landed and rolled for some period of time before ultimately going nose down into the grass,” Vicari said. “The front gear, I don't know if it actually collapsed or not, but it basically sunk down into the softer non-pavement area and then the whole nose of the aircraft was basically stuck in the grass.”

Airport runway staff ultimately had to tow the aircraft off the grass. Vicari did not identify those involved with the incident. As of Monday, the incident remained under investigation with the FAA.

A departing flight was delayed on the ground for two hours, and two incoming flights were delayed.

Vicari said the plane left track marks in the grass infield of the runway, but otherwise there was limited damage to airport property.

“This was a pretty small aircraft. So the weight of it isn't enormous,” he said. “We do sometimes see aircraft deviate off the pavement or sometimes they'll strike runway lights or signs and cause some damage in that way. In this case, we didn't have any of that.”

tbrown@durangoherald.com