Two Injured When Nosewheel Collapses

On a day when any report of a plane crash brings shivers to the spine, ANN is relieved to report no one was seriously injured when a British Airways BAe 146 commuter jet made a hard landing at London City Airport Friday.

News reports state 67 passengers and five crew onboard the plane (similar to type shown at right) were able to evacuate after the aircraft skidded to a stop on the runway at LCY. Two persons were taken to the hospital, reportedly as a precautionary measure.

British Airways flight 8456 was inbound from Amsterdam.

"I'm just opposite City Airport and there are about 20 fire engines and ambulances on the runway," witness Alistair Grant told Sky News. "Police have blocked everything and are diverting traffic... The whole of the front undercarriage has failed but apart from that it's not in bad shape.

"It's a very chilly night out here so luckily the plane didn't skid into the dock which is very close," Grant added. "There's people all around the area blocking off traffic."

The accident closed the single-runway airport. Arriving flights have been diverted to other airports.

London City is known for its unusually steep approach angle to the runway. Instead of the 3-degree downslope to the runway at most commercial airports, planes are required to fly a 5.5-degree downslope to LCY due to noise restrictions and buildings surrounding the downtown airfield (as seen above).

FMI: www.britishairways.com