JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Marine jet arriving in town to participate in a flyover at Sunday's Jaguars game was left crippled on the runway of Jacksonville International Airport after its landing gear collapsed on Saturday afternoon.

It is one of three F-18 jets that were arriving in Jacksonville from the base in Beaufort, S.C.

A representative of Jacksonville Airport Authority said the plane made a rough landing around 12:30 p.m. The two pilots on board were not hurt.

Recreational pilot Ed Booth, who was in the area and saw the crippled jet, said it appeared the left landing gear failed.

"When you lose landing gear, there's always the danger that the airplane goes inverted, and that's not a good thing on a military jet, so it looks like they did a good job," Booth said.

The rough landing forced officials to close down one runway as guards kept civilians away from the aircraft, but JAA said it did not affect other traffic at the airport.

It not immediately known the extent of the damage or the F-18, if the jet will be able to be flown back to its base, or whether the there would still be a flyover at the Jaguars game.