PENN TWP — A small airplane with two men aboard was forced to make an emergency landing Monday evening at the Butler County Airport after experiencing landing gear trouble, authorities said.

The single-engine 1977 Piper Cherokee Arrow touched down safely in a belly landing shortly before 7 p.m. No injuries were reported.

“I’m not an expert on planes,” said Jack Ripper, Penn Township patrolman, “but to me it looked like a textbook landing.”

Pilot Thomas Zoelle of Forward Township was praised for the wheels-up landing that closed the airport runway for more than two hours.

The Federal Aviation Administration is in the charge of the investigation, said airport manager Roy Uptegraff.

Emergency crews were called to the airport in Penn Township after Zoelle discovered a problem in the nose gear. He radioed AirQuest Aviation, the airport’s fixed-base operator.

In turn, the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department, Butler Ambulance Service and township police were notified of the unfolding emergency in the sky.

Uptegraff, who was busy with another engagement in Pittsburgh, also was told. He contacted the FAA and told the agency that he was closing the runway.

Authorities did not know immediately where Zoelle was coming from, but according to FlightAware, an online flight-tracking service, his plane reportedly departed Niagara Falls International Airport at 4:52 p.m.

But he had a kind of “home-field advantage” as he readied for the emergency landing. Zoelle has been a tenant at the airport since 2010, storing his Piper Cherokee Arrow at a hanger there, Uptegraff said.

Zoelle, who flies the plane for his business service’s company, KJTA LLC of Renfrew, could not be reached for comment.

Rescue crews of more than two dozen soon converged on the airport and watched the four-seat plane circle overhead several times.

While Uptegraff did not immediately speak to Zoelle, he speculated that the circling maneuver was the pilot’s attempt to burn off fuel before making the emergency landing.

Or, Zoelle was possibly buying time as he tried to override the electric motor and mechanically ratchet the landing gear down into a lock position.

From below, Ripper could tell something wasn’t right with the nose wheel.

“The front gear wasn’t straight up and down” he said. “It was at an angle.”

Finally, the plane made its final approach, but not before the landing gear was retracted inside the aircraft. Moments later, concern turned to relief.

Not only was the aircraft on the ground but Zoelle managed to keep it on the runway.

Ripper admitted he was impressed and credited Zoelle for passing the unplanned stress test with flying colors.

“It was cool, since no one got hurt,” the officer said. “It was a nice smooth landing for what he did. It looked like a glider coming down.”

Zoelle and his passenger, who was not immediately identified, wasted little time in getting out of the plane.

The tips of the propeller blades appeared to be bent, likely caused when they hit the runway tarmac, but the extent of the damage to the aircraft was not known.

Uptegraff said he planned to inspect the plane today. The FAA also was to send its own inspector.

The airport manager said he has already filed a preliminary report with the FAA.

The plane was towed back to its hangar and the runway was reopened about 9:10 p.m.