It was a terrifying moment on a flight bound for Orange County as passengers on board recorded the moment their plane's landing gear failed.
"We were going a bit faster than I would normally fly when we were going down," said 16-year-old passenger Abhi Amineni.
Amineni captured the hectic scene, showing sparks and smoke flying out the left side of the Boeing 737-800. He recalled the shaking during the plane's final approach to John Wayne Airport.
"As we were making the final approach everything kept shaking," he said. "Normally, this type of shaking is just normal turbulence but it normally doesn't happen this close to the ground."
The landing and people screaming shocked Aminieni and his friend Ahkil Arunkumar. The pair said there was no announcement to brace themselves.
"It was 'Hey guys your landing gear collapsed so we'll be stuck here for now' and that was it," said Arunkumar.
Aminieni and Arunkumar's plane, Alaska Airline Flight 1288 from Seattle, remains badly damaged on the runway with one of the engines sitting on the ground and the landing gear not visible.
"Unfortunately, this particular landing was not successful," said Captain Ross Aimer, a retired pilot and aviation expert.
Aimer believes the pilots had no idea how hard the landing would have been.
"Obviously not, they didn't know it was going to be this hard. Otherwise, they would have gone around," he said.
Aimer believes the weather could have played a factor in the hard landing.
"Perhaps they hit some wind shear just before touch down and the runway was wet," he said.
The retired pilot added John Wayne Airport, this type of plane and a wet runway created a tough combination.
"It's a bigger 737-800 — one of the latest models," Aimer said. "But unfortunately, it's much bigger, heavier and it requires a much higher landing speed — that makes it harder."
He also said with Orange County having a shorter runway and the conditions, LAX would have been his choice.
"I presume there was a lot of wind and rain which made it very hard on a short runway like Orange County Airport," Aimer said.
All of the passengers were unharmed and were escorted off the plane by OC firefighters and although it was a terrifying experience, Aminieni and Arunkumar are thankful.
"You have to give the pilot credit," said . "You're landing in high winds, low visibility and with one of the shortest commercial runways — it's a recipe for disaster so you have to give a pat on the back to the pilot."
Alaska Airlines released a statement saying they will focus on taking care of their passengers, which includes retrieving their luggage and, of course, inspecting the aircraft.
"The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority," the company said. "While this incident is a rare occurrence, our flight crews train extensively to safely manage through many scenarios. Our maintenance and safety teams are inspecting the aircraft."
The National Transportation Safety Board has not launched an investigation at this time.
The Link Lonk
August 22, 2023 at 11:36AM
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNic25ld3MuY29tL2xvc2FuZ2VsZXMvbmV3cy9hbGFza2EtYWlybGluZXMtZmxpZ2h0LW1ha2VzLXJvdWdoLWxhbmRpbmctYXQtam9obi13YXluZS1haXJwb3J0L9IBbWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNic25ld3MuY29tL2FtcC9sb3NhbmdlbGVzL25ld3MvYWxhc2thLWFpcmxpbmVzLWZsaWdodC1tYWtlcy1yb3VnaC1sYW5kaW5nLWF0LWpvaG4td2F5bmUtYWlycG9ydC8?oc=5
Alaska Airlines flight makes rough landing at John Wayne Airport - CBS News
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