No one hurt when plane makes emergency landing at Wheeling airport

No one was injured Monday when a twin-engine turbojet airplane made an emergency landing at the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, authorities said.

The plane, part of the N-Jet fleet based at the airport, was coming in for a landing about 1:15 p.m. when it experienced a mechanical malfunction, said Krista Coltrin, the airport’s administrative manager.

It landed, leaving skid marks on a runway, and then stopped in a grassy area.

Only the pilot and co-pilot were aboard, Coltrin said.

Wheeling and Prospect Heights firefighters went to the airport but weren’t needed for a rescue, Wheeling Chief Mike McGreal said.

The plane is a 1125 Westwind Astra manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries in 1991, Federal Aviation Administration records indicate.

The airport was shut down after the emergency. Two of its three runways had reopened by 2 p.m., Coltrin said.

An N-Jet representative couldn’t be reached…