No one was hurt in the troubled landing of the Southwest Airlines flight 345 that touched down at New York’s LaGuardia airport Monday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The flight made a landing without its nose gear. Television images showed a collapsed front end of the plane.
Reports say the flight originated in Nashville, Tennessee, at 1:55 p.m.
According to Kathleen Bergen, spokesperson for FAA, as the plane approached New York, pilots reported possible landing gear problems.
“The plane’s nose gear collapsed as the aircraft landed on Runway 4 at 5:45 p.m. EDT,” Bergen said. “The plane safely came to a stop and no injuries were reported.”
Television images showed the plane was surrounded by emergency vehicles after its troubled landing.
“Emergency responders at New York’s LaGuardia airport are assisting with an evacuation of flight 345 after the Boeing 737 arrived this evening from Nashville,” Southwest airlines said in a statement.
Two passengers told reporters that they do not remember any unusual alerts from the flight crew before the landing, except to remind them to ensure their seat belts were properly buckled.
“The landing was “incredibly shocking … almost like as if you’re being rear-ended,” one passenger told CNN in an interview broadcast on the network. “People were really in a panic at that point.”
Reports say LaGuardia was temporarily closed to arriving aircraft for about 90 minutes after the incident.
Earlier reports that stated people were injured were revised.
By Perviz Walji
Sources: Reuters, CNN, Politico
