Small jet rolls off runway at Sonoma County airport

A small passenger jet rolled off the end of the runway upon landing Wednesday at Charles?M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, causing the closure of the main airstrip and diverting one commercial flight.

No injuries or damage was reported after the Gulfstream 150 from Colorado failed to stop at the end of the airport’s newly lengthened 6,000-foot main runway and came to rest in the dirt safety area north of the tarmac, according to Jon Stout, airport manager.

“The aircraft came in high and fast,” he said. “It was either a mechanical problem or a pilot issue.”

The incident occurred at about 10 a.m., Stout said, and the runway was shut for nearly eight hours while federal authorities investigated. During the closure, aircraft used the shorter secondary runway, which is not equipped to handle flights in poor visibility.

An Alaska Airlines flight from San Diego, due to arrive at 12:30 p.m. during the height of Wednesday’s rain showers, was not able to land and was diverted to Oakland International Airport, Stout said. The return flight was canceled. The last time a plane overshot a runway at the airport was four years ago, Stout said.

The Gulfstream carried two pilots and two passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident, including testing the pilots for drugs and alcohol, Stout said.

The incident comes four days after a two-seat airplane landed hard at the airport. The nose wheel of the Cessna Skycatcher collapsed on landing Saturday. No one was injured.

In both cases, Rincon Valley firefighters were dispatched.

Neither incident appears to have been caused by the airport’s new $55 million runway, which opened last month, Stout said.

“Everything performed OK from the airport’s perspective,” he said.