Crack In Plane's Nose Gear Caused TWA Jet Mishap
Damage Prevented Wheels From Lowering
Mascoutah, Illinois (August 11, 2001) -- A crack in part of the nose landing gear of TWA Airlines Flight 519 apparently prevented the gear from opening, forcing an emergency landing Thursday night at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.
 National Transportation Safety Board investigator Ed Malinowski said Friday he didn't know why the nose landing gear deflector assembly of the Boeing 717 cracked. Malinowski said the damaged equipment, which deflects water as the plane lands, will be sent to the NTSB's metal lab in Washington.
A preliminary report is expected in about a week, with a final report taking six to 12 months to complete, he said.
Flight 519 from Nashville, TN, to St. Louis made an emergency landing without its nose landing gear on a foamed runway about 8:20 p.m. Thursday at MidAmerica. The plane had been diverted to Springfield, IL, because of bad weather in St. Louis. It was scheduled to fly to Oklahoma City after stopping in St. Louis.
None of the 71 passengers or five crew members was hurt, though one passenger with a heart condition was taken to a hospital for observation.
Malinowski said he will examine Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB reports to see if any other 717s have suffered from a similar problems. However, there are no plans to physically examine all of the 717s in service, he said.
Flight 519 Passenger Mary Tillman, a St. Louis pediatrician, said the pilot prepared passengers and kept them calm during the ordeal.
"He told us what was happening as he continued to try to lower the landing gear," Tillman said. "He continued to communicate and let us know what was going on."
Mike Donatt, spokesman for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, said the plane was rerouted to MidAmerica after the pilot made it clear he was comfortable with getting to MidAmerica where emergency preparations were under way.
After the plane was removed from the runway Friday afternoon, a sweeper removed debris, such as aluminum dust from the skin of the plane scraping the pavement, said Michael Conner, director of operations for MidAmerica.
The plane will remain at MidAmerica until crews can make it safe for flight, Conner said.
"There apparently was some structural damage to the aircraft, and it could be a couple of days while the plane is being repaired before it can be moved," Conner said.
TWA spokesman Julia Bishop-Cross said the plane eventually will be transported to a maintenance garage in St. Louis or Kansas City, MO. She said the new plane, which began transporting passengers in April, has not had any other maintenance problems.
The light air traffic at MidAmerica played into the decision to reroute the plane there, where it reduced the disturbance in air traffic.
"The delays that would be the by-product of a plane sitting on one of Lambert's main runways would be felt all around the country," Donatt said.
Air traffic at MidAmerica wasn't affected by the runway closure. The runway was cleared about an hour before the once-daily Pan Am flight was scheduled to land.
TWA will finance the costs of the emergency landing. Conner tallied the emergency landing costs Friday afternoon. He said St. Clair County Board Chairman John Baricevic will negotiate the payment from TWA.
Tillman credited the pilot with landing the plane without causing any injuries to the passengers.
"He did a good job. I was just praying that I would survive and not receive any permanent injury," she said. "I came through it safely, and I'm sure the Lord was looking out for me."
The emergency landing was the fifth involving a TWA jet in the past month. The latest incident involved a Boeing 717; the previous four involved MD-80s. In all four of those cases, pilots reported engine failure or trouble.
Late last month, the Federal Aviation Administration reviewed maintenance procedures and found no connection between the MD-80 emergency landings. NTSB spokeswoman Lauren Peduzzi said her agency was not investigating the series of problems.
St. Louis-based TWA is in the process of integrating into American Airlines following a merger approved earlier this year.
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
Staff and Wire Report Article © the Belleville News-Democrat
Beth Gansmann and Jaime Ingle contributed to this story.
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