London, June 4 (IANS) A private pilot who landed his plane on its belly in Corsica after the landing gear locked said it was "a dangerous thing" to to but he had "seen it done on YouTube".

Klaus Gerecht, from Germany, safely brought down his Cessna light aircraft at Figari airport in Corsica, the Daily Mail reported Friday.

Gerecht repeatedly circled the airport for about an hour to burn off excess fuel. He then cut off the engines and glided the plane safely onto the runway.

He and two passengers on board escaped unhurt.

"Just before coming into Figari we noticed the landing gear wouldn't release. We had no choice but to land the plane on its belly," he said.

"It was a dangerous thing to attempt but luckily I'd seen it done once before on YouTube. So I got the plane into position, cut the engines and brought her down. It was a bit bumpy but otherwise fine.

"The ground staff covered the grass with fire-extinguishing foam and helped me every step of the way," he added.