Pictured: Fireball terror as passenger jet with faulty landing gear crash-lands on runway

MailOnline ^ | 9-14-09 | Allen Hall

[444Flyer]

Flames and smoke spew from beneath a passenger jet as it hurtles along a runway after making a dramatic belly landing.

The aircraft was forced to crashland after part of its undercarriage failed to drop into position.

The 78 passengers and crew emerged largely unhurt, although one flight attendant was taken to hospital for observation and five passengers were treated for shock.

Enlarge Flames and smoke are seen coming from the rear of a Fokker 100 airplane as it makes an emergency landing on the tarmac of Stuttgart's airport.

The Fokker 100 had left Tegel airport in Berlin yesterday morning. But when it reached Stuttgart in southern Germany the pilot reported problems with the landing gear. He made a number of low passes over the airport so that ground staff could try to see the problem.

Passengers then had to brace themselves for a number of sharp manoeuvres as the pilot tried to shake the wheels loose. Finally they were told to prepare for a crash landing, with only the plane's nose wheel in position.

The Lufthansa flight, operated by Contact Air, came down on a layer of fire-retardant foam on the runway. Those inside escaped on emergency slides.

Among them was the leader of Germany's Social Democrat party, Franz Muentefering. 'It was a serious, serious situation,' he said, congratulating the crew's handling of the situation before adding: 'Once in a lifetime is enough for something like this.'

Some 200 Britons were stranded in Italy last night after a holiday jet was hit by a string of failures. First the generators on the Airbus failed, leaving passengers destined for Stansted sweltering on the tarmac at Naples with no air conditioning. There was another delay when oxygen masks unexpectedly deployed from the ceiling.

[444Flyer]

Wow. Dems 2010.

[444Flyer]

[444Flyer]

[Cheetahcat]

Meet the folkers!

[Question_Assumptions]

“Contact” Air, huh?

[freedumb2003]

Amazing anyone, much less everyone, walked away from this.

Sully 2.0 (this time the problem is that Eurotrash he is flying, though).

[tet68]

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

[Cheetahcat]

“Some 200 Britons were stranded in Italy last night after a holiday jet was hit by a string of failures. First the generators on the Airbus failed, leaving passengers destined for Stansted sweltering on the tarmac at Naples with no air conditioning. There was another delay when oxygen masks unexpectedly deployed from the ceiling.”

No not Airbus that is impossible where is our resident Airbus Apologist on this one?

[noblejones]

I’d rather fly Airbus than Tupolev.

[omega4179]

Fokker, doing the crash landings that Airbuses won’t do.

[ArmstedFragg]

This is why I make it a policy never to fly planes with names that are adjectives.

[2111USMC]

That’s hard on airplanes.

[444Flyer]

ROTFL!!! I try to be sharp but missed the “Fokker” when I posted it.

[omega4179]

I try to fly MD and Boeing.

[Dan Middleton]

"(this time the problem is that Eurotrash he is flying, though)."

So, what do you know about airplanes?

[AmericanInTokyo]

Wow. Will you just look at that Fokker.

[444Flyer]

*Gasping*! LOL!

[HereInTheHeartland]

That Fokker is not in the circle of trust anymore.

[freedumb2003]

Lets just say I am not a big fan of Airbus and Fokker.

[444Flyer]

I am NEVER flying with you again!