Newark Plane Makes Emergency Belly Landing in Poland
After a landing gear malfunction, the plane skidded to safety, injuring none.
| Posted Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, at 2:41 PM ET
Photo by WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP/Getty Images
A Boeing 767 carrying 231 people from Newark, New Jersey made an emergency belly landing at Warsaw, Poland’s Frederic Chopin International Airport Tuesday after a landing gear malfunction.
Passengers on board were terrified, obviously fearing the worst, but procedures were in place for the emergency landing, CNN reports.
When the landing gear failed to open, the LOT Polish Airlines plane circled above the airport for about an hour, burning fuel to make the aircraft as light as possible and lower the chances of a fire upon impact.
Meanwhile, an emergency crew laid out flame retardant foam on the strip for the plane to land on. Sparks flew from the engine and small fires were ignited as the airplane skidded across the ground, but firefighters were on hand to immediately quell the flames.
The Associated Press reports that no one was hurt. "It is the first time a LOT plane had to land without the landing gear out," LOT president Marcin Pirog said, noting that such landings do not always end well.
Frederic Chopin International, Poland’s busiest airport, will be closed until Wednesday morning.
Watch the landing below:
