The front landing gear of a plane arriving at New York’s LaGuardia Airport has collapsed shortly after the plane touched down on the runway, leaving several people with injuries.
The Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville, Tennessee, was carrying 150 passengers and crew, the airline said.
Ten passengers were treated at the scene, with six taken to hospital with minor injuries, said Thomas Bosco, acting director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the area airports.
The six crew members were taken to another hospital for observation.
Mr Bosco said the nose gear of the plane collapsed when it landed and “the aircraft skidded down the runway on its nose and then veered off and came to rest in the grass area”.
He added that there was no advance warning of any problem before the landing.
Emergency crews were seen spraying foam towards the front end of the plane on the tarmac. The Port Authority said the passengers exited the plane by using emergency chutes.
Passenger Anniebell Hanna, 43, said the flight was delayed leaving Nashville, and passengers heard an announcement saying “something was wrong with a tyre”, she said.
“When we got ready to land, we nosedived,” said Ms Hanna, a sergeant first class with South Carolina National Guard.
“I hit my head against the seat in front of me,” she said. “I hit hard.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said Flight 345 came safely to a stop at the edge of the runway. The nose of the Boeing 737 could be seen on the ground.
The airport was temporarily closed.
The FAA is investigating, as is the National Transportation Safety Board.
Richard Strauss, who was on a nearby plane waiting to take off for Washington, said the nose of the plane was “completely down on the ground. It’s something that I’ve never seen before. It’s bizarre”.
A rear stairwell or slide could be seen extending from the Southwest flight, said Mr Strauss. His plane, which was about 100 yards from the Southwest flight, was not allowed to taxi back to the gate, he said.
Patrick Smith, author of Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel, said landing gear incidents are not high on the list of worries for pilots.
“It doesn’t happen very often but I need to emphasise just how comparatively minor this is and how far, far down the hierarchy it is,” he said.
“From a pilot’s perspective, this is nearly a non-issue. They make for good television, but this is far down the list of nightmares for pilots.”