Delta plane lands with nose gear up at Charlotte airport
By Sara Smart, CNN
(CNN) — A Delta Air Lines flight landed with its “nose landing gear up” at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Wednesday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration says.
No injuries were reported from the incident, but the runway was closed while crews with the airport worked on removing the plane from the runway, CLT Airport shared in a post on Facebook.
The flight, operated on a Boeing 717, departed from Atlanta around 7:25 a.m., according to a Delta statement. There were 96 customers, two pilots and three flight attendants on board.
“As it approached CLT, pilots received a ‘nose gear unsafe’ indication. The crew initiated a missed approach procedure to further investigate the indication,” Delta said in a post on its website.
The airline said that initial reports show that the crew flew by the air traffic control tower in Charlotte so that air traffic controllers could visually inspect the plane. That observation indicated the nose landing gear doors were open, but the nose gear itself had not come down.
The plane landed at 8:58 a.m. EDT in Charlotte with the nose gear up, Delta said.
The runway was closed for most of the day. Around 7 p.m. the airport announced on its website that the aircraft had been removed from Runway 18R/36L and the runway had been inspected.
“The runway is now open. Please continue to check with your airline on updated flight status,” the airport said.
‘It was a smooth landing’
The pilots and crew on board were “calm and collected” during the emergency landing Wednesday morning, said passenger Chris Skotarczak.
“The crew stepped up and started going over all the procedures and safety emergency protocols,” Skotarczak said.
“I could see the plane’s shadow and was able to see there was no nose gear down. We throttled back up and then circled a few times and finally came in for a landing. It was a smooth landing and pilots and crew were amazing. Calm and collected in the cabin and everyone remained calm.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” Delta said in a statement to CNN. “While this is a rare occurrence, Delta flight crews train extensively to safely manage through many scenarios and flight 1092 landed safely without reported injuries. We apologize to our customers for their experience.”
All passengers were bused off the plane and taken to the terminal.
Some Delta flights have been delayed as a result of the incident, a spokesperson with the airport told CNN.
Two other runways at the airport remained open while the affected runway was closed, the FAA said.
The FAA will investigate why the nose gear did not come down during landing. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Pete Muntean, Jamiel Lynch and Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report
