In a minor crash that was alarming for all, but seriously injuring for none, a Boeing 737-700 skidded to a halt when its landing gear failed to open on a New York City runway. The jet, owned by Southwest Airlines, fell upon its nose when the landing gear simply collapsed, startling the 143 passengers and 6 crew members, but leaving only 10 people with minor injuries. After the plan screeched across the runway, it finally halted in a grassy area nearby.
“It was unlike any other landing,” said passenger Kathy Boles, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. “It was just a bang and a bounce and then just a slam on the brakes and that skidding feeling. It was very clear … that something was really wrong and that we did not land on wheels in the front.”
Clearly a terrifying moment, as when the pilot instructed passengers to check their seatbelts and their neighbors seatbelts. “All of a sudden, this huge bang,” said another passenger,” Frank Ferramosca, speaking to CNN.
This isn’t the only time a Boeing 737 has stuttered with its landing gear, recently. A similar crash happened on July 6 with Asiana Airlines, when three were killed in San Francisco when the landing gear failed to work.
