The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A JetBlue plane made an emergency landing on the main runway at the Lynden Pindling International Airport on Friday due to a gear malfunction, the Department of Civil Aviation said.

The incident caused the runway’s temporary closure until the plane was moved; however no injuries were reported.

In a statement released on Friday, the department said that the Accident and Investigations Unit of the Flight Standards Inspectorate would conduct an investigation into the incident with a view to “determining the circumstances which led to its occurrence”.

According to the statement, at 3.25pm on Friday, a JetBlue 29 Embraer 190, inbound to LPIA from Washington Dulles Airport with 97 souls on board, declared an emergency to Nassau approach control due to a landing gear problem.

It was initially determined by the Department of Civil Aviation and LPIA officials that only the right main gear was extended, and that both the left main gear and the nose gear were not.

The pilot in command made a decision to attempt a landing at LPIA, and after burning some fuel, executed a safe landing at 4.36pm, with the use of both the left and right main gear only. The nose gear was not extended, the department said.

All passengers and crew were determined to be uninjured, the statement said.

The statement added: “The Department of Civil Aviation commends the pilot, the Air Traffic Control staff, the Airport Authority, the Nassau Airport Development Company, the Airport Crash, Fire and Rescue officers at LPIA, and the Royal Bahamas Police Force firefighters, for a job well done.”

Response crews were swiftly on the scene to ensure the safety of the 93 passengers and four crew members onboard. There were no reports of any injuries.

WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE IN THIS VIDEO OF THE LANDING TAKEN FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

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