Small Plane Catches Fire on Runway Near Pittsburgh

An airport spokeswoman says a small plane did not slide off a county airport runway near Pittsburgh before it caught fire.

JoAnn Jenny, spokeswoman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, says nobody was hurt in the incident about 12:30 p.m. Monday at the county airport in West Mifflin. West Mifflin is a few miles east of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River.

County dispatchers say initial reports indicated the plane slid off the runway before catching fire. But Jenny says the pilot saw smoke in the cockpit and simply stopped the plane and got out as it caught fire.

Jenny says the Beechcraft Bonanza was taxiing when it caught fire.