DC-9 collapses LG in MSP
Northwest plane with 70 aboard lands safely after landing gear collapses
Howie Padilla and Jackie Crosby
Star Tribune
Published Jun 4, 2002
The right rear landing gear of a Northwest Airlines DC-9 collapsed Monday evening as the airliner, carrying 66 passengers and a crew of four, landed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
No one on Flight 877 from Louisville, Ky., was hurt and there was no fire. There was no advanced warning of any trouble, said airport spokesman Patrick Hogan. Emergency crews responded after the aircraft slid about 4,000-feet down the runway and ground to a halt with its right wing touching the ground, Hogan said. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m.
A Northwest Airlines DC-9 landed safely after its right rear landing gear collapsed.
David Brewster
Star Tribune
"We were going down and everything was normal," said Duane Petersen, who was seated on the plane's right side. "Then all of a sudden, it felt like the springs in your car when you bottom out."
Petersen said crew members told passengers that the airplane was traveling about 180 miles per hour when the landing gear collapsed. He said he saw only a few sparks out his window as the plane skidded to a stop without turning.
Passengers left the plane, which is manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, through the normal exit and took stairs to the tarmac, where buses were waiting to take them to the main terminal, said Northwest Airlines spokeswoman Mary Beth Schubert. It was too soon to determine what caused the accident, she said.
Passengers making arrangements to get their luggage about two hours after the landing treated the incident as little more than a normal flight, except for some added praise for the plane's crew.
The airplane's maintenance history was not immediately available, Schubert said. It was to be taken to a nearby hangar.
One runway remained closed for at least three hours until National Transportation Safety Board officials determined that the plane could be moved, Hogan said. Northwest crews were expected to haul the plane to a hangar by morning.
Travelers experienced mild delays Monday evening due to the closed runway, but traffic is expected to return to normal by today.