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Small plane crash-lands at Cortez Municipal Airport

There were no passengers, and the pilot wasn’t injured

A single-engine plane crash-landed at Cortez Municipal Airport about 4:15 p.m. Sunday, causing a small fire and damage to its wing, according to reports from the Cortez Fire Protection District.

A battalion engine and truck responded to the crash and crews reported that it had closed the runway about 4:24 p.m.

The pilot was uninjured and out of the plane when fire crew arrived, and the plane carried no passengers, according to Montezuma County Sheriff Steven Nowlin.

The identity of the pilot and the make of the plane was not immediately released.

According to Nowlin, the plane's landing gear failed.

The fire reportedly was extinguished at 4:27 p.m., the fire department said.

The Federal Aviation Administration had begun preliminary work on an investigation, after making contact with law officials on the scene about 4:45 p.m., according to chatter on emergency radio channels.

This article will be updated when additional information becomes available.