Plane touches down safely with no landing gear at regional airport

The plane came into land about 12.20pm after burning through its fuel doing circles for nearly three hours.

An eyewitness told the ACM's Newcastle Herald the incredible emergency landing was over in about 10 seconds.

They said the "crunching sound" of the aircraft sliding onto the Williamtown runway on its belly, in a wheels-up landing, captivated onlookers.

Emergency services - both civilian and military - swarmed the plane immediately where it came to rest on the runway at Williamtown after it slid onto the runway on its belly.

It's understood the landing gear on the 10-seater King Air flight failed shortly after take-off with three people, including the pilot, on board.

NSW Police said the flight reported technical issues to air traffic control at the Williamtown Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base just after 10.30am.

Online radar showed the flight was circling the airport at Williamtown multiple times on Monday morning before heading north towards Hawks Nest in an effort to burn through its fuel.

It's understood the aircraft was burning fuel in preparation for its emergency wheels-up landing, to reduce the risk of fire.

More than 20,000 people were tracking the flight on Radar24 on Monday morning as Hunter residents held their breath, waiting to find out how the incident would unfold.

The small plane took of from Newcastle Airport on Monday morning and the mechanical fault was discovered immediately.

Emergency services were first called to the scene at about 9.30am on May 13 after reports of an "aircraft with mechanical issues" which had not yet landed.

Police officers attached to the Port Stephens Hunter command were at the scene, including specialist rescue resources.

Ambulance NSW crews tasked multiple resources to the scene, firefighters and State Emergency Service (SES) crews were also there, along with Westpac and Careflight rescue helicopters.

A RAAF base is located at the Williamtown airport.

A spokesperson confirmed that Defence had been providing support to a civilian aircraft that had suffered a mechanical fault.

Passengers can expect flight delays at Newcastle Airport.

In a public statement, Newcastle Airport has said it is "incredibly relieved" the aircraft landed safely this afternoon.

"We're investigating options to recover the aircraft and re-open the airfield as soon as possible," the statement said.

"We will update our socials with more information as it becomes available.

"Passengers are encouraged to speak to their airline directly if they have any questions."