Nose Gear Collapses, Passengers Felt "Two Big Bumps"
Landing gear issues
forced a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 to make an emergency
landing at Oakland International Airport Sunday.
Southwest Flight 3050 had departed Sacramento International
Airport, bound for San Diego, and had been in the air about an hour
and a half when the pilots noted a nose landing gear indicator
light, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The SWA pilots diverted to OAK, telling passengers an "issue"
needed to be checked out.
According Southwest spokeswoman Linda Rutherford, pilots flew
over San Francisco Bay trying to get the landing gear to go through
a complete cycle of lowering and retraction. OAK spokeswoman
Rosemary Barnes said the pilots then decided to have an air traffic
controller get a visual on the gear.
After getting a confirmation the gear was lowered, pilots made
the emergency landing... when the nose gear collapsed on touch
down.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said that
at some point, the pilot reported to controllers he had three green
lights -- indicating that all three of the plane's landing gear
mechanisms were properly functioning, down, and locked.
It is still unclear if the
landing gear retracted or broke off. Gregor said the more likely
scenario is retraction.
"It could break off -- but that's a chance in 100,000," he
said.
There were no injuries reported of the 119
passengers and crew members on board. All were evacuated via an
inflatable slide, said Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin.
Passengers have since continued their respective trips to San
Diego after complaining to reporters the airline didn't tell them
what was going on while they circled the airport, said the
Chronicle.
The runway remained closed Sunday while awaiting a crane to
remove the 737. Airport officials expected it to be fully
functional by Monday. Despite the closure, there were no flight
service disruptions, according to KPIX Channel 5 News. Planes were
switched to an adjacent north field runway, OAK spokeswoman Cyndy
Johnson said.
Gregor credited the pilot with making a safe landing under
potentially dire circumstances. Passengers told reporters they only
felt "two big bumps" on landing.
"Given what they were dealing with, obviously the pilot did a
terrific job bringing the plane down," he said.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#:
SWA3050 Make/Model:
B737 Description: 737
Date: 06/03/2007 Time: 2230
Event Type: Incident Highest Injury:
None Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Minor
LOCATION
City: OAKLAND State: CA Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT 3050, A BOEING 737 AIRCRAFT,
REPORTED LANDING
GEAR PROBLEMS, DIVERTED, AND NOSE GEAR RETRACTED DURING
LANDING ROLL, NO
INJURIES REPORTED TO THE 119 PERSONS ON BOARD, OAKLAND,
CA
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 0
# Crew: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 119 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: 29012KT 10SM FEW008 BKN200 19/11 A3003
OTHER DATA
Activity: Business Phase:
Landing Operation: Air Carrier
FAA FSDO: OAKLAND, CA
(WP27)
Entry date: 06/04/2007