The plane was moved from the runway by crane

The crew reported a problem with the undercarriage and decided to return to the airport.

A full emergency was declared as the plane's undercarriage collapsed when it touched the runway.

Aberdeen Airport's acting manager director Peter Noyce described how the plane then skidded on its belly for about 500 yards down the runway before coming to rest.

Mr Noyce said the pilot's actions were magnificent.

He said: "My understanding is that he was already in the process of shutting the engines down as the aircraft touched and the engines were almost stopped before the aircraft rested on the runway.

"First class, they all walked away from the incident with no injuries whatsoever."

Peter Noyce: Praised pilot

Helicopter flights to and from Aberdeen were able to continue from other runways - but more than a dozen fixed wing flights were delayed or cancelled for more than three hours until a crane had lifted the stricken aircraft clear of the main runway.

Hundreds of passengers were delayed or transported to other airports.

A spokesman for Scottish Airports said: "There was an aircraft accident at 7.14am today involving a Kingair Beach 200, operated by Gama Aviation.

"Early indications suggest that the undercarriage collapsed after take off.

"However everyone on board is OK and there were no injuries."

Emergency services attended the scene and an air accident investigation will be launched to establish the cause.