Jet Blue is about to get some really bad or really good publicity....

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The landing gear is pointing the wrong way in the front of the plane. Am watching this live. Can't stop watching, it's morbid.

http://kcal9.com/topstories/topstoriesla_story_264192052.html

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:30 (twenty years ago)

they will dump their fuel offshore and make a clumsy but hopefully safe landing. fingers crossed.

― Thea (Thea), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:32 (twenty years ago)

The people on the plane must be freaking out. They've been circling LA for 2 hours now.

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)

wow this is scary. I'm praying for them. do whatever you do for them please.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:37 (twenty years ago)

Apparently that Airbus can't dump fuel, so they have to burn it off.

― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

Ugh.

― kurt broder (dr g), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

weird, the radio is saying they're dumping fuel before landing.

― Thea (Thea), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:39 (twenty years ago)

do they know how long until it lands?

― gear (gear), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:40 (twenty years ago)

Channel 9 is saying that they aren't dumping because they can't see it coming out. They've got an air pilot on. They are sending them back to Catalina now (over the ocean). I feel so bad for the people on that plane. They said no news on when they are going to bring them in.

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:41 (twenty years ago)

Passengers on a stricken plane are about to die or live...

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

holy shit : /

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

I think they just said something about a "safe foam landing" (?) happening minutes from now at LAX

― Thea (Thea), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:51 (twenty years ago)

well... the fucked up thing is they have sat. tv on jetblue, so in theory they could be watching this happen. they're talking about whether or not to turn it off or not. praying for them. think it will turn out ok.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:52 (twenty years ago)

8 minutes

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:52 (twenty years ago)

Local CBS news says that they will most likely be ok. They also just said that the landing will take place at 6pm PST.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:54 (twenty years ago)

Planes are built to absorb a skid on the nose. Don't expect a Sioux City. I have a fair amount of faith they'll be alright.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:55 (twenty years ago)

Those poor people! They will spray that heavy-duty foam on the runway to prevent fire and try to slow things down.

― Jaq (Jaq), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:55 (twenty years ago)

Channel 9 says he's still over the ocean at Long Beach, so it won't be 6pm, prob after.

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:57 (twenty years ago)

LAX is next to the ocean. Planes also move really fast. So 6 on the dot isn't unrealistic, but probably about 5-7 minutes from now is more likely.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 23:58 (twenty years ago)

I'm sure they'll be okay, but it's still frightening to be in an emergency landing.

― Jaq (Jaq), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:04 (twenty years ago)

Channel 9 isn't helping. They told people to turn off the TV if watching the live landing will upset them. I don't know what I think about that, it seems a little panic-causing.

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:06 (twenty years ago)

I'm assuming Channel 9 is a local LA station? In which case, the city famous for televising high speed car chases and suicides of people armed to the gills on freeway overpasses doesn't surprise me in the extremist reporting.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:08 (twenty years ago)

Eh, the coverage seems ok. They have said numerous times that they will likely be ok, and that everybody seems calm.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:09 (twenty years ago)

You should turn to Ch 7, where they basically said "one of the possibilities, could be it breaks into a ball of fire" WTF? Ch 9 seems to have chilled a little since they merged with Ch 2.

I know that this problem may seem small compared to what's happening on that plane, but one of my co-workers is lecturing all of us on planes, crash landings etc. He does this any time there is "breaking news" on TV. Name a topic he knows ALL about it. He was just here talking about it, when I went to the kitchen he was sharing his expertise with someone else.

― rocknrolldetox (rocknrolldetox), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:10 (twenty years ago)

great news for a nervous flier (i.e. - me) who has to fly in a few days. those poor people... and imagine hearing this on the radio on the way home after dropping your family member/loved one off at the airport for that flight.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:10 (twenty years ago)

xpost: Well, that *is* one of the possibilities (just not very likely).

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:12 (twenty years ago)

did the kcal anchorwoman just say to the correspondent "you stay down there and give us a yip if you see it coming"?!

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:14 (twenty years ago)

Yes, I know. But he really seemed to enjoy saying it.

― rocknrolldetox (rocknrolldetox), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:15 (twenty years ago)

>Yes, I know. But he really seemed to enjoy saying it.<

See my above statement on high speed chases and televised suicides. The producers are probably loving the possibilities of carnage, which is pretty damn messed up.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:16 (twenty years ago)

"yip"

― Thea (Thea), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

see, the reason why i'm NOT a nervous flier is the fact that everytime there's even a POTENTIAL problem, it's headline news. Imagine if every time there was a issue with a car the media went all BREAKING NEWS...MAN'S HONDA HAS BALD TIRES.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

Speaking of Sioux City, Al Haynes is on MSNBC.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

yay!

― rocknrolldetox (rocknrolldetox), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:19 (twenty years ago)

wow.

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:19 (twenty years ago)

And, a non event. Big shock.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

omg that guy deserves a MEDAL

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

YAAAAAAY!!!!

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

sometimes when life works out it can be such an ecstatically happy thing :)

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

wow.

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:21 (twenty years ago)

these anchorpeople are absolutely insufferable.

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

They landed safely then? Yay :D

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

Free Drinks!

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

(whispering) "show it again. show it again!"

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

Now Ch. 7 wants to know how possible it is that people break their legs and ankles while getting off the plane using those slidey things.

― rocknrolldetox (rocknrolldetox), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

someone should invent a selective mute

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:23 (twenty years ago)

Trayce not only did they land safely, the pilot kept it going straight on, even as the wheels were flaming.

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:24 (twenty years ago)

no free drinks for the anchorghouls

― Thea (Thea), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:24 (twenty years ago)

Dang, at least Ch 9 is happy about it! Fie upon Ch 7!

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:26 (twenty years ago)

Airline pilots are bloody amazing.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:26 (twenty years ago)

and the passengers are walking down the stairs under their own power. My faith in airlines is restored! (I'm a nervous flier)

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:28 (twenty years ago)

8 minutes

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:30 (twenty years ago)

"I just wanted to tell you both Good Luck. We're all counting on you"

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

I can't believe they're interviewing the Mayor through a chainlink fence.

― rocknrolldetox (rocknrolldetox), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

"I just wanted to tell you both Good Luck. We're all counting on you"

Hahaha

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:41 (twenty years ago)

What is that from? Channel 7?

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

Haha. There's someone from the flight already calling MSNBC. Or its someone from Stern.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Thursday, 22 September 2005 00:46 (twenty years ago)

A friend of mine just landed into Long Beach on a flight from NYC. He said they were all watching and clapped when it landed. He also said that (I don't know how he heard) that the people on the plane were watching CNN until 5 mins before landing.

― rocknrolldetox (rocknrolldetox), Thursday, 22 September 2005 01:03 (twenty years ago)

Haha. Somewhere out there, a man who was on that plane watched ESPN all the way up till they killed the satellite feed for the planes TVs. I clap for him, whoever he is.

― Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Thursday, 22 September 2005 01:14 (twenty years ago)

Hell yeah, baseball's gettin' down to the wire.

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 22 September 2005 01:24 (twenty years ago)

"I just wanted to tell you both Good Luck. We're all counting on you"

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 22 September 2005 02:54 (twenty years ago)

Not to detract from the pilot's bravery and skill, but I'm wondering why the news reports seem to be making a big deal of the fact that he landed the plane on the rear wheels. Has anyone ever been on a flight that didn't land on the rear wheels? I'd be very concerned if you had.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:19 (twenty years ago)

On the rear wheels and not the front one which was broken and which, if too much weight had been put on it, could have snapped, causing the nose of the plane to kerplunk to the ground.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:24 (twenty years ago)

THE ANGEL MORONI WATCHED OVER THEM.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

Spencer OTM!

>the people on the plane were watching CNN until 5 mins before landing.<

I got a hearty laugh from this Zucher Zucker & Abrahams-worthy fillip.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, but the nose of this plane did eventually touch down. He didn't manage to pop a wheelie all the way until the plane stopped. That would have been impressive I admit! All he did was what every pilot on every plane I have ever been on has done - ie., he landed first on the rear wheels, and then let the nose down gradually until the front wheels touch the ground.

xxpost

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:41 (twenty years ago)

looks like i picked the wrong week to give up smoking.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

I don't know, from the video feed I watched he managed to keep that nose up pretty damn long. I don't think the laws of physics would have allowed him to keep the nose up until the absolute stop.

Either way, it was a perfect landing in a highly imperfect situation.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

"Looks like I chose a bad week to stop sniffing glue..."

[xpost damn you N-RQ]

― foxy boxer (stevie), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:18 (twenty years ago)

I'm guessing that he kept the nose up for aslong as he could before popping it down, great flying given the pressure of the situation.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

I love JetBlue. I flew from Boston to Oakland for 99 bucks and they gave me a tiny bag of delicious Terra blue Potato Chips which I ate very slowly to prolong the ecstacy. And they have the cool flight-path screen on the backs of the headrests.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

And they have the cool flight-path screen on the backs of the headrests.

I learned to hate that thing when I flew to Australia. Eat some dinner, watch a movie, take a nap, wake up, check the flight-path, and you're not even past Hawaii yet.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

Apparently there was enough axle left that they could put a wheel on it and just tow it off the runway.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)

JetBlue Passengers Watched News of Drama
By DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 39 minutes ago
The airliner circled Southern California for hours, crippled by a faulty landing gear, while inside its cabin 140 passengers watched their own life-and-death drama unfolding on live television.

While satellite TV sets aboard JetBlue Flight 292 were tuned to news broadcasts, some passengers cried. Others tried to telephone relatives and one woman sent a text message to her mother in Florida attempting to comfort her in the event she died.

"It was very weird. It would've been so much calmer without" the televisions, Pia Varma of Los Angeles said after the plane skidded to a safe landing Wednesday evening in a stream of sparks and burning tires. No one was hurt.

Federal authorities, the airline and the plane manufacturer launched investigations.

Varma, 23, and other passengers said the plane's monitors carried live DirectTV broadcasts on the plane's problems until just a few minutes before landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

The landing gear trouble — the front wheels were stuck in a sideways position — was discovered almost immediately after the plane departed Bob Hope Airport in Burbank at 3:17 p.m., en route to New York City.

The Airbus A320 circled the Long Beach Airport, about 30 miles south of Burbank, before being cleared to land at Los Angeles. It stayed in flight for three hours to burn off fuel, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker.

Zachary Mastoon of New York said it was "surreal" to watch his plane's fate being discussed on live TV while it was in the air. At one point, he said, he tried to call his family, but his cell phone call wouldn't go through.

"I wanted to call my dad to tell him I'm alive so far," the 27-year-old musician said.

The pilot finally brought the plane down, back wheels first. As he slowly lowered the nose gear, the stuck wheels erupted in smoke and flames, which quickly burned out.

"At the end it was the worst because you didn't know if it was going to work, if we would catch fire. It was very scary. Grown men were crying," said Diane Hamilton, 32, a television graphics specialist.

As the plane was about to touch the ground, Hamilton said crew members ordered people to assume a crash position, putting their heads between their knees.

"They would yell, "Brace! Brace! Brace!'" she said. "I thought this would be it."

Lisa Schiff, 34, of Los Angeles sent a text message to her mother in Miami that said: "I love you. Don't worry about me. If something happens, know that I am watching you and Daddy and (her brother) David."

Emergency crews from across the area met the plane on the runway. Spectators gathered on buildings and stood on parked cars to see firsthand as passengers walked down a stairway onto the tarmac with their carryon luggage.

Some passengers shook hands with emergency workers and waved to cameras. One firefighter carrying a boy across the tarmac put his helmet on the child's head.

"We all cheered. I was bawling. I cried so much," said Christine Lund, 25, who was traveling with her cat.

She and the other passengers were taken by bus from the tarmac to the airport's international terminal. The plane was towed to a hangar, and the runway where it touched down was closed for about three hours, but no flights were delayed or canceled, officials said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who spoke with the pilot, identified him as Scott Burke and praised him for the calm he showed during the flight.

"He joked that he was sorry he put the plane down 6 inches off the center line," Villaraigosa said.

JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said the airline was investigating the incident with the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board. She declined to identify the pilot and first officer.

The cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data recorder — the so-called black boxes — were removed from the airplane and secured by the investigator in charge, the NTSB said Thursday.

About 57 of the passengers were placed on another flight, which arrived at New York's Kennedy Airport at 6:05 a.m. EDT Thursday, said airline spokeswoman Sharon Jones. Others were put up in hotels and given reservations for Thursday flights. Still others simply returned home.

Among the latter group was Varma, who was greeted by her parents at the terminal.

"It started out just being a ghastly birthday, but now it's just fabulous, " said her father, Anil, who turned 51 on Wednesday.

A similar problem with sideways landing gear struck an America West Airbus A320 in 1999. That plane landed safely at Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio, and no one was injured.

Airbus spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said the company is working closely with JetBlue to determine exactly why what happened.

"While rotated nose landing gear is uncommon, it has happened in the past, with a similar outcome — safe landing, no injuries," Greczyn said in an e-mail. "Last night's incident concluded exactly as Airbus expected it would. Flight crews are trained to handle such situations and aircraft are designed to withstand such landings."

JetBlue, based in New York, is a five-year-old low-fare airline with 286 flights a day and destinations in 13 states and the Caribbean. It operates a fleet of 81 A320s.

___

Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus contributed to this story.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 22 September 2005 18:14 (twenty years ago)

8 minutes

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 22 September 2005 19:34 (twenty years ago)

"I just wanted to tell you both Good Luck. We're all counting on you."

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 22 September 2005 19:39 (twenty years ago)

Lucky it didn't lose all its instruments and crash with all these mobile phones in use.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:14 (twenty years ago)

dj qualls and taryn manning were on that plane!

― mark p (Mark P), Friday, 23 September 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

i guess she didn't make that much money on her films if she's still flying jet blue

― Jaxon (jaxon), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

Lots of fancy people fly Jet Blue!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 23 September 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

"I just wanted to tell you both Good Luck. We're all counting on you."

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

Okay, you win.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

"I just wanted to tell you both Good Luck. We're all counting on you."

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 4 January 2007 01:47 (nineteen years ago)

i wonder if orbit is still watching the coverage

― spectre (gear), Thursday, 4 January 2007 02:01 (nineteen years ago)

Wow, Spencer is here too. Is ILX really back or is it all just a kooky dream?

― The Redd And The Blecch (Ken L), Thursday, 4 January 2007 03:44 (nineteen years ago)

It does feel a tad odd - even Alex is back.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 4 January 2007 04:13 (nineteen years ago)

Now all we need is J0hn and Tep and Momus.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 4 January 2007 04:13 (nineteen years ago)

HI DERE SPENCER

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 4 January 2007 04:29 (nineteen years ago)

Look the popular kids are back!

― Super Cub (Debito), Thursday, 4 January 2007 05:01 (nineteen years ago)

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