Emergency Landing At MidAmerica Airport
Nose Gear Fails To Extend On TWA Plane
BELLEVILLE, IL (August 10, 2001) -- A TWA Boeing 717 plane made an emergency landing Thursday night at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah after its nose gear failed to extend.
Carrying 71 passengers and five crew members, TWA Flight 519 landed on a foamed runway about 8:20 p.m., TWA spokesman Julia Bishop-Cross said.
Bishop-Cross said the flight originated in Nashville, Tenn., and was headed to St. Louis but made an unscheduled landing at Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois, because of bad weather and the need to refuel.
"The flight was scheduled to land in St. Louis at 4:15 but couldn't because of bad weather," Bishop-Cross said. "Upon heading to St. Louis, the crew noticed there was a problem with the nose gear."
KMOV-TV Photo
© KMOV-TV
Bishop-Cross said the plane flew by the control tower at MidAmerica Airport where tower officials could see the nose gear had not extended. She said foam was placed on the runway as a precaution and to cushion the impact of the landing.
"It was an uneventful landing, which means there was no fire and the landing was as smooth as could be expected during those circumstances," she said.
After the passengers got off the plane, MidAmerica Airport security officials would not let them talk with newspaper and television reporters.
As of press time, Bishop-Cross said there were no injuries, but one passenger with a heart condition had been taken to a hospital for observation.
She said buses arrived at MidAmerica Airport to take passengers to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
This is the latest in a string of emergency landings by TWA planes.
In a six-day period in July, four TWA MD-80s made emergency landings or returned to their airport of departure with engine trouble or failure.
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
Jaime Ingle Article © Belleville News-Democrat
Some information for this story contributed by reporter David van den
Berg
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