Belly Landing in Puerto Vallarta

A parade of emergency services met the Dash 8 as it ground to a stop in a shower of sparks after a dramatic belly landing. On May 18, 2013, a US Airways/Piedmont Airlines Dash 8-100 turboprop en route from Philadelphia to Newark was landing in Newark when the left main landing gear failed to deploy. At the last minute, pilot Edward Powers went gear up, landing in a blaze of fire from belly-landing-friction, till it came to rest in the dark. No one was injured.

There were 3 crew and 34 passengers aboard.

After landing at 1 a.m. after the pilot had circled to burn off fuel, the passengers disembarked, and were bussed to the terminal. The plane was foamed to prevent sparks from igniting.

Hysterical passengers reported the pilot announcing “crash crash crash,” calling home for last goodbyes, the jolt and grind of impacting the runway, and the cabin filling with smoke as it landed.

The plane made a belly landing, which means without wheels. A sixteen person team of emergency services responded to the scene