Landing Gear

  • | |

    King Air Landing Gear Failure in NM

    What: Chartered King Air en route from Ruidoso N.M to Vernal
    Where: Ruidoso N.M
    When: Sept 6
    Who: Bob Williams, Mikki Ramussen, Cindy Thomson, AudieWilliams, Kaye Williams, Linda Conde, Juan Carlos Sanchez.
    Why: After the pilot determined there was a problem with the landing gear, he was directed to return to Ruidoso to make an emergency landing.

    Instead of 3 landing gear, only one was down. Eventually all 3 of them were down when the plane landed; however on landing the gear collapsed, forcing the plane to a belly landing.

    No one was injured but the plane was totaled. The Charter company provided a replacement flight the next day.

  • | | | |

    Mumbai: Kingfisher Airbus Landing Gear Fails


    Pictured: A Kingfisher Airlines Airbus
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Steve Brimley

    What: Kingfisher Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Mumbai to Bangalore
    Where: Mumbai
    When: Sep 15th 2009
    Who: 98 passengers
    Why: Shortly after takeoff from Mumbai, the gear failed to retract. The plane returned to the airport for a safe landing, where passengers debarked–also safely–to board alternative transportation.

  • | | | |

    Stuttgart: Fokker Foam Landing


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Bernd Sturm

    What: ContactAir Fokker 100/Lufthansa en route from from Berlin Tegel to Stuttgart
    Where: Stuttgart
    When: Sep 14th 2009
    Who: 73 passengers including Franz Muentefering and 5 crew (6 injury/issues)
    Why: After lowering the gear on approach to Stuttgart, the plane indicated an unsafe gear indication. The main gear would not lower; and after a holding pattern and attempts to resolve the issue, the plane made a belly landing on foam. Passengers debarked via slides.

    Franz Muentefering, chairman of Germany’s Social Democratic Party was on board, en route to an election rally.

    Five passengers were treated for shock, one flight attendant was hospitalized, but only one passenger was injured.


    Video in German

  • | | |

    Wal Mart Lear Jet Tire Fire in Boeing Field


    Pictured: A Walmart Lear Jet
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Jeff Rodeback

    What: Wal-Mart Lear 45 executive jet en route to Anchorage
    Where: Boeing Field in Seattle
    When: August 26, 2009
    Who: six passengers on board
    Why: When the pilot was unable to retract the landing gear, he returned to Boeing field; On landing, the front landing gear (still locked up) caught fire. The tire fire was put out with foam. There were no injuries reported.

  • | | | | |

    Frontier Airlines: 2 emergency landings in one day


    Pictured: A Frontier Airlines-Lynx Airlines De Havilland Dash flying out of Denver
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer John E. Jauchler

    What: Lynx Aviation de Havilland Dash 8-400 (Frontier Airlines) flight en route from Fargo to Denver
    Where: Fargo Hector International Airport
    When: Aug 16th 2009
    Who: 74 passengers 5 crew
    Why: After a bird strike on take-off, the Frontier Airlines plane was cleared to return to the Fargo airport and repaired; but on the subsequent flight, the plane’s landing gear doors did not close after the gears were retracted on the initial climb, sending it back to maintenance.

  • | | | |

    Nordstar Boeing Diverts to Krasnodar


    Pictured: First Nordstar Boeing
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer

    What: Nordstar AKA Taimyr Avia Boeing 737-800 en route from Antalya, Turkey to Moscow
    Where: Krasnodar
    When: Jul 26th 2009
    Who: 173 passengers and 9 crew
    Why: When the Boeing’s landing gear would not retract, the flight diverted to Krasnodar Russia where it landed safely.

    George’s Point of View

    This is a huge 747.

    With so many older planes stretching their years of service, we’re going to see an increasing number of emergency landings; and we’re going to have an increasing number of incidents attributed to maintenance.

  • | |

    Lear Jet emergency Landing

    What: Bank Air Learjet
    Where: Chippewa Valley Regional Airport
    When: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday July 15
    Who: pilot, co-pilot and two passengers
    Why: After takeoff, th landing gear indicator light presented problems. After dumping fuel, the plane was able to land safely about 20 minutes after takeoff.

  • | | | | |

    Dallas: American Eagle ERJ Lands Safely with Hydraulic Failure


    Pictured: an American Eagle Jet
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Jonathan Morgan

    What: American Eagle Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Dallas to Dayton Ohio
    Where: Dallas
    When: Jul 11th 2009
    Who: 43 passengers
    Why: Just after takeoff, the flight experienced issues with hydraulics. The landing gear failed to extend. Nearly an hour after leaving, the flight landed safely at the airport of origin, although “alternate gear extension” implementation was required.

    American Eagle is affiliated with American Airlines.

  • | | | |

    Embraer Emergency Landing in Cincinnati


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Mark Kryst

    What: (Jetlink) Continental Express Embraer en route from Cincinnati to Newark, N.J
    Where: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
    When: Sunday June 21 5 pm
    Who: (not released)
    Why: After takeoff, the landing gear would not retract, so the pilot landed the plane at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and passengers transferred to another plane.

  • | |

    Sometimes You Just Can’t Win

    What: Air India Boeing 747-400 en route from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to Mumbai
    Where: Riyadh
    When: May 27th 2009
    Who: 300 Passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the crew could not retract the landing gear. Air Control told the crew to fly to Mumbai with the gear down.

    The captain refused and returned to Riyadh for a safe landing. Then Air India grounded the captain and stopped his salary.

    George’s Point of View

    This captain is something of an unsung hero, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

    Even though the captain’s job was to ferry the plane, he refused to do so.

    However, a ferry flight with gear down in night conditions is not permitted.

    So he lost his job for doing the right thing.

  • | | | |

    Delta Emergency Landing

    What: Delta (Skywest Airlines Canadair CRJ-200) en route from Kalispell to Salt Lake
    Where: Missoula International airport
    When: June 12, 2009 3 pm
    Who: 49 passengers and 3 crew members
    Why: While on route to Salt Lake, the plane experienced problems with its landing gear. After making efforts to deal with the problem and carry on, they decided to make an emergency landing at the Missoula International Airport 45 minutes after take-off. The gear lowered and locked and the plane landed without injury to anyone.

  • | |

    CRJ-200 Partial Gear Landing

    What: Delta /Atlantic Southeast Airlines 50-seat CRJ-200 Bombardier en route from Columbus to Atlanta
    Where: Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
    When: June 11, 2009
    Who: 19 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: On approach to Atlanta, the left main gear failed to extend, in spite of extended efforts. After a partial gear landing, the plane ended up off runway 27 right. No one was reported to be injured.

  • | | | |

    Colgan/Bombardier – Another Near Tragedy?


    What: Colgan Airlines/ Continental Q400 Bombardier turbo-prop en route from Newark to Buffalo
    Where: Buffalo International Airport
    When: May 12 6 pm
    Who: 73 on board
    Why: On landing, part of the wheel assembly disengaged. A passenger video shows the tire assembly coming to pieces on landing. One tire of the two-tire assembly comes off; the remaining tire sustains the landing.

    George’s Point of View

    Notably, the wheel assembly had been recently serviced, but whether or not the problem lies with Colgan maintenance or the established fact that the tire assembly on the Q400 Bombardier is well renowned for problems is as yet undetermined. At the end of the tape above, take a look at the shot of the 2007 Denmark incident where the Q400 Bombardier’s right landing gear collapsed. There were 8 such landing gear failures in the Q400 Bombardier in 2007 alone.

  • | | | |

    Airbus Doubles Back Twice in Rome

    What: Windjet Airbus A320-200 en route from Catania to Rome Fiumicino (Italy)
    Where: Catania
    When: May 4th 2009
    Who: 111 passengers
    Why: This plane returned to Catiana not once but twice. First, an unsafe gear indication turned them back for repairs; on the second try, retraction of the gears resulted in vibrations of the airframe, so they returned to Catiana a second time. The flight left for Rome seven hours later–on a different plane.

    George’s Point of View

    Can’t you just feel the response of the passengers? Not just the anxiety the first time around, but imagine the second attempt when those gears went up and that anxiety was topped off by terror when the plane started vibrating. There’s not a person on board that plane who wasn’t relieved when that plane made it safely to the runway.

  • | | | | |

    Airbus Emergency Landing in Montreal


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Mick Bajcar
    What: Air Transat Airbus A310-300, registration C-GTSD en route from Panama City Panama to Montreal,QC Canada
    Where: Montreal, QC Runway 06L
    When: Mar 23rd 2009
    Why: The crew reported an unsafe gear indication on approach, and initiated a go-around. They managed to lower and lock the gear but then nose gear steering was unavailable. They landed safely and had to be towed away, blocking the runway for fifteen minutes.

  • | | |

    Unsafe Gear on MD-88 Lands Safely in Guadalajara


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Juan Carlos Guerra – APM
    What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from Guadalajara Mexico to Atlanta, GA
    Where: Guadalajara
    When: Mar 24th 2009
    Who: 120 passengers and 5 crew,
    Why: When the crew discovered an “unsafe gear indication” they burned off fuel, (Airport spokesman Miguel Aliaga said the pilot dumped fuel) and requested emergency services to stand by as they undertook an emergency landing on runway 28.

  • | | | |

    Safe Belly Landing in Canada


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Gary C. Orlando
    What: Perimeter Swearingen SA-226TC Metro, registration C-FSLZ en route from from Sainte Therese Point to Winnipeg Canada
    Where: James Richardson International Airport
    When: 3 March 2009 12:15 p.m.
    Who: 2 crew members, 8 passengers
    Why: The landing gear would not go down, so the crew had to take a belly landing. There were no injuries.

  • | | |

    Saab Lands with Stuck Landing Gear


    Pictured: Carpatair Saab in flight
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Bogdan Pop
    What: Carpatair Saab 2000 en route from the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, to Timisoara in Rumania
    Where: emergency landing at Timisoara International Airport in Western Romania
    When: Feb 28, 2009
    Who: 51 people-47 passengers, 4 crew.
    Why: Six miles from the airport, the crew discovered that the plane’s landing gear was stuck. After the flight circled for two hours burning fuel, the plane landed safely on the main landing gear on a 200-yard long bed of foam. No injuries were reported.

    Carpatair vice-president Dan Andrei is reported to have said, “When it landed, the plane came down on the side wheels; it braked sharply and at a low speed it came on its front belly, while the front landing gear remained stuck.”


    View Larger Map

  • | | |

    British Airways Emergency


    Click to see large photograph on Airliners.net
    Contact the photographer “SkyLiner”

    What: British Airways Avro 146 RJ100 passenger jet en route from Amsterdam to London City
    Where: London City Airport
    When: Feb 13 2009 Friday evening about 8 p.m
    Who: 67 passengers and four crew members
    Why: On landing, the front wheel collapsed, and as the plane scraped on it’s belly across the tarmac, the cabin filled with smoke. Everyone debarked from the rear of the plane via emergency slide. There were a few emergency slide injuries-

  • | |

    Gear Up Landing in Oregon


    What: C320
    Where: SEASIDE, OR
    When: 02/02/2009 4 p.m.
    Who: Only the pilot Roger DeLong was aboard. No injuries reported.
    Why: The Cessna landed with the landing gears stuck in the gear up position. The pilot had already dropped off passenger Gary Turel prior to the landing. The plane slid approx. 700 feet on its belly and sustained some damage. According to the FAA spokesman “landing gear jams are not uncommon on the twin-engine Cessna 320.”