RDU briefly shuts down runway after small plane incident, diverts flight

A flight was diverted on Friday afternoon when a small aircraft blocked the runway at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).

According to RDU officials, the airfield was briefly closed to remove the small general aviation aircraft and then reopened.

The FAA released a statement saying:

"A single-engine Piper PA-28 veered off the end of the runway after landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport around 7:30 p.m. local time on Friday, June 21. Only the pilot was on board. The FAA will investigate."

Despite the incident, the FAA reports no injuries and only two flights were diverted.

This marks the third time in just eight weeks that a small plane has caused inconveniences at the airport.

In April, a plane landing mishap resulted in a runway departure and subsequent crash. Only one of the two passengers onboard required hospitalization.

Then in May, a small plane made a hard landing on the tarmac due to a nose gear malfunction however, there were no injuries.

WRAL News is working to learn more about the pilot of the plane and what caused the rough landing.