US Airways flight makes emergency landing without nose gear at Houston airport
HOUSTON -- A U.S. Airways plane was forced to make an emergency landing without its nose gear at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston Monday night.
The Houston-bound flight was coming from Philadelphia and had 52 passengers, as well as four crew members, aboard. A spokesperson with the airport says the pilot noticed the landing gear wasn't coming down and decided to make an emergency landing.
Raw video of the emergency landing:
While trying to assess the landing gear problem, the pilot kept the passengers updated on what was going on.
"The pilot announced that there was a problem with the landing gear and he was going to make a couple fly-bys of the control tower," said passenger Jeff Boulton. "They checked it out as he flew by and sure enough, the nose gear didn't come down, so he announced that we'd make an emergency landing and everyone would have to brace for impact. He touched down. It was smooth."
The plane landed safely, with passengers exiting the aircraft on slides. One passenger was injured, though according to the airline, the injury is not believed to be serious. Firefighters tell KTRK-TV that the passenger declined help when asked.
The National Transportation Safety Board is heading to the airport to begin an investigation.
