The front landing gear came off a Southwest Airlines plane while it was trying to land at LaGuardia Airport on Monday evening. Ten people were injured.
The Associated Press reported the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane landed safely. Officials said the landing gear collapsed after the aircraft came down on the runway.
Southwest Airlines released a statement Monday saying that all passengers were taken off the plane and transferred to the terminal. It said five passengers and three flight attendants had injuries, but it is unclear how badly they were injured.
“Southwest plane without front wheel,” tweeted Bobby Abtahi, posting a photo that was widely circulated on Twitter shortly after the plane landed. Scores of emergency crews were seen congregating around the plane.
The FAA said the Southwest Airlines flight was coming from Nashville and landed at 5:45 p.m. The plane was carrying 149 passengers and crew.
An eyewitness told WABC-TV that the front wheel was down when the Southwest plane approached LaGuardia. The station reported that one runway was reopened at 7:05 p.m.
The plane, a Boeing 737, “reported possible landing gear issues before landing,” a spokesperson with the FAA told the Wall Street Journal.
Photos uploaded to Twitter show the plane’s nose resting on the tarmac. A later photo shows passengers exiting from the plane on an inflatable slide.
“Sitting on runway at #Laguardia and see sparks out the window. Plane came in with no front landing gear. Airport closed indefinitely,” wrote user Mary Woodard.
User Matt Lewis wrote: “Stuck on tarmac in LaGuardia... plane apparently lost front landing gear.”
Jared Bowers tweeted that the “plane went off the runway at #LaGuardia. Thankfully it doesn’t look bad. I’m definitely delayed.”
The FAA is investigating, while the NTSB is also sending an investigator.
