What appeared to be a normal landing at Penticton airport took a turn for the worse Friday morning.

Photo: Contributed - Google street view

The airport had to be shut down after a single-engine Cessna aircraft tipped on its nose.

Capt. Dennis Noble of the Penticton Fire Department says things seemed normal when the plane came in for the landing.

"A pilot was coming in, touched down and did the landing, but then got a little bit mixed up and ended up doing a 'nose plant' onto the runway."

The pilot was uninjured in the mishap, but the plane suffered damage and began leaking fuel, forcing the closure of the airport.

"We had a little fuel leak that we had to deal with before we could tow the plane off the runway," says Noble.

Despite the closure, no incoming flights were affected as the clean up was completed and the airport reopened before the next flight was due.

The woman, an experienced pilot, was transported to hospital as a precautionary measure.