fbpx

Southwest 737 Gear Collapse Shuts LaGuardia Runway

Eight injured as Southwest 737 lands without nose wheel.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 lost its nose wheel on landing at New York LaGuardia Airport on Monday, spewing sparks as the jetliner skidded on its nose down the runway and injuring eight on board.

The incident led to lengthy flight delays at LaGuardia after something went wrong as Southwest Flight 345 landed in light showers at about 5:45 p.m. local time. The 13-year-old 737-700, which had flown from Nashville, rested on its nose off the side of Runway 4 after the nose gear apparently failed.

Video of the crash landing shows what appears to be the jet’s nose wheel rolling along the tarmac several hundred feet from where the 737 came to a stop. Communications between Southwest 345 and LaGuardia Tower immediately before the incident, meanwhile, seemed normal with no indication of a landing gear problem.

The injured included five passengers and three flight attendants, according to Southwest.

See raw footage of the mishap here:

We welcome your comments on flyingmag.com. In order to maintain a respectful environment, we ask that all comments be on-topic, respectful and spam-free. All comments made here are public and may be republished by Flying.

Login

New to Flying?

Register

Already have an account?