MANCHESTER, England, July 6 (UPI) -- Alan Sugar, host of the BBC series "The Apprentice," was lucky to survive a rough plane landing in the British city of Manchester, witnesses say.

An unidentified witness said the 61-year-old managed to land his private plane at a small airport this weekend despite heavy rains, The Mail on Sunday reported. Sugar overshot the end of the slippery runway by nearly 100 feet, the Mail said.

"It is only a small airport," the witness said of Saturday's incident. "There is not a great deal of room for pilot error.

"Had he been going much faster, it could have been a very different story."

A spokesman for the TV star said blamed the weather, saying Sugar is an experienced pilot who was merely flying in from the county of Essex.

"The accident was due to the weather being particularly wet and heavy," the unidentified spokesman told the Mail. "It is also a very short runway.

"For Sir Alan this was just a pleasure trip. He flies a great deal at the weekends."