No One Was Injured During Emergency Landing

The crew of the United Airlines A320 which experienced a near-total electrical failure and the smell of smoke in the cockpit landed the plane safely with virtually no instruments, relying on specific instructions from ATC to get them back to the New Orleans Airport.

Recordings made by liveatc.net indicate a cockpit crew dealing with an increasing number of issues, beginning with the smell of smoke in the cockpit. "United 497, we are declaring an emergency," one of the crewmembers told controllers. Shortly after that came the statement "United 497, we've lost all our instruments."

Controllers gave the crew turn-by-turn vectors back to the airport, according to an account on ABCnews.go.com. A controller is recorded as saying "United 497, just continue the left turn, I will tell you when to stop, sir."

The pilots kept ATC informed as to their position using landmarks, such as the Mississippi River. But even with the airport in sight, the problems weren't over.

The crew knew they would have difficulty controlling the airplane once it was on the ground given the electrical failure. They requested the "longest runway," ... runway 10 ... which had been closed for construction. A transcript of the conversation published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune indicates that approach told the crew "we are unable (to clear Runway) 10, can you take 19?" "No," was the answer. The airport scrambled to have runway 10 cleared of workers and equipment, but were unable to clear it in time for the airplane's arrival. The plane was cleared to land on runway 19.

On touchdown, the crew, as expected, had difficulty controlling the airplane due to the electrical failure. It was also carrying a over 32 thousand pounds of fuel for its scheduled flight to San Francisco. As the plane rolled out after touchdown, one of the nose gear tires blew, and the airplane ran off the runway into muddy grass alongside. The aircraft was evacuated using its emergency slides, and all 106 souls on board were safe.

FMI: www.united.com