Newark flight makes emergency landing in Poland without landing gear

Breaking News Terrifying Landing For 230 Passengers As All Wheels On 767 Fail To Deploy Pics & Video
Posted by Natasha on November 1, 2011 at 3:04pm
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Terrifying touch down: The Boeing 767 hits the ground in Warsaw this afternoon on its belly after a catastrophic failure of all its landing gear

An aeroplane carrying 230 people was involved in a terrifying landing earlier today following a catastrophic equipment failure.

The pilot was forced to bring the Boeing 767 in to land at Warsaw airport with no wheels after all its landing gear failed. The aircraft skidded along the tarmac on its belly, sparks flying, and a fire broke out in the starboard engine before it came to a halt.

Incredibly nobody on the flight, which came from Newark, New Jersey, was injured in the crash but a relative of a passenger said some on board panicked, crying and bidding final farewells to each other.






Drama: Flames and sparks burst from the aircraft as it slides along the ground without any means of braking




Rescue: Fire engines spray fire retardant foam on the LOT Polish airlines plane after it comes to a standstill. Astonishingly none of the 230 people on board was injured

Relatives of passengers waiting at the airport sought information as the emergency unfolded.


Joanna Dabrowska, 29, managed to speak to her mother-in-law, a passenger, via mobile phone after she evacuated the flight. Dabrowska said some of the passengers apparently feared the worst.


'People were saying their final farewells to each other and some were sobbing,' she said.


Dabrowska was among a group of relatives waiting at the airport in a special room. Her mother-in-law was returning home after a month-long visit to Clinton, New Jersey.



According to the mother-in-law, passengers removed their shoes and evacuated the plane using the emergency slide.


'She was in shock, but she was fine,' said Dabrowska. She declined to give her mother-in-law's name because she didn't have her permission.


Other relatives at the airport would not talk to reporters. One woman whose husband and two sons were on board said she was relieved, but was shaking and declined to give her name or say more.


Passengers were taken to a medical center and were examined by doctors, said Przemyslaw Przybylski, a spokesman for the Warsaw airport.




Miraculous: Passengers escaped down the plane's emergency chutes after the landing at Warsaw. No one was injured



The captain, Tadeusz Wrona, has been hailed a hero by Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowsk, as well as by the airport staff and the Polish media.





LOT airlines president, Marcin Pirog, said that Captain Tadeusz Wrona and co-pilot Jerzy Szwartz carried out a 'perfect emergency landing,' which prevented anyone from being injured.






'It is the first time a LOT plane had to land without the landing gear out,' said Pirog, before adding that such landings do not always end well.






Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski congratulated and thanked the crew and emergency workers for ensuring no one was hurt.






'I thank everyone with my whole heart in the name of Poland,' said Komorowski.





The airport has been closed until 8am on Wednesday. Flights which had been scheduled to land in Warsaw have been diverted to Lodz, Gdansk and Krakow.



Safe landing: The Boeing 767 came down on foam sprayed on the tarmac in an attempt to dampen any fires that broke out

As the situation unfolded emergency services were waiting at the end of the runway to deal with any potential disaster.


The pilot had radioed ahead to let the control tower know there was a problem with deploying the landing gear. After several attempts, however, it was decided that the aircraft would have to come down without any wheels.



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