Jun 20, 2006 5:12 pm US/Central
(CBS) CHICAGO An American Airlines plane from Los Angeles was forced to make a scary emergency landing Tuesday morning at O'Hare Airport after the plane's nose gear got stuck.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports American Airlines 1740 circled O'Hare Airport for 45 min. without front landing gear, preparing for the emergency landing.
Passengers on board knew something was wrong when the plane circled the airport for a while. American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said the captain flew past air traffic control to get a visual on whether the nose gear was down.
The flight crew told the 136 passengers on board to get into crash position.
"I was worried, but not, like, totally frightened. My voice was calm, my knees were shaking," said passenger Mike Dunlap.
Tension aside, Dunlap and the other passengers say they followed crew instructions and got into a tuck position.
“To me, it was amazing how calm everybody was,” Dunlap said.
The aircraft was carrying 10,000 pounds in fuel, and thus, the Fire Department sent five ambulances and other fire equipment to the scene.
The control tower directed the plane to O'Hare's 13,000-foot-long runway. The pilot landed the MD-83 on its rear landing gear and kept its nose up.
The incident happened on live television just before 6:30 a.m.
CBS 2 Aviation Expert Jim Tilmon was on air. He's a former American Airlines pilot and said he could tell by the airplane's approach that the landing would be successful.
"The airplane was not rocking the wings. It was very stable. If the air speed gets too slow, then you've lost control over the elevators, which is the way you control the nose. So you don't want to go too slowly, but you don't want to do it too fast either," Tilmon said.
Sparks came out from the front of the plane as it landed, but there was no fire. On board, there was an eruption of applause.
All the passengers were taken off the plane and brought to the terminal by bus.
But passengers said the time before the landing made for a frightening experience.
“It was nerve-wracking because had whole family on board,” said passenger Sandy Marschinke.
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman met the Marschinke family at baggage claim. They described the experience.
“They put the rear wheels down and it wasn’t bad at all," Chris Marschinke said. "We started braking on those for a long time before the nose even hit the ground."
"It was very loud and very rough, but okay, though,” Sandy Marschinke added.
Added Chris: "Everyone kind of got jolted, but as soon as you could tell we were pretty much stopped, everyone started clapping."
A short time later, the fire department made an announcement.
"We're happy to report there were no injuries -- I would like to repeat, there were no injuries," Fire Department Commissioner Raymond Orozco said.
Meanwhile, Fagan complimented the pilot’s work.
“Our cockpit crew is highly trained, they're very highly skilled. I think that's what you saw that today,” she said.
Fagan said the captain has 17 years’ experience and the first officer 7½ years.
Dunlap said he was thankful for it. Having survived the ordeal, he said he feels “appreciation; kind of the euphoria of having gambled and won, that kind of thing.”
When asked what he would say to the pilot, Dunlap replied, “I'd buy them both a drink.” Dunlap said he had thought his only story to tell would have been his experience on "The Price is Right" in Los Angeles.
The plane left Los Angeles just before midnight, carrying 131 passengers and five crew members.
The plane, a MD-83, is not capable of dumping its fuel, but that was likely not a factor because the aircraft was probably not carrying much fuel by the time it neared Chicago.
Emergency crews and fire equipment immediately surrounded the plane after it came to a stop, Fire Department Media Chief Kevin MacGregor said. No fire was found.
"We had the equipment in place to use if necessary, but it did not need to be used," he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the incident.
Eine MD-82 der American Airlines

 Ein American-Airlines-Flugzeug ist am Morgen des 20. Juni sicher notgelandet, nachdem nur die hinteren Fahrwerke ausgefahren werden konnten.

American Airlines „Flug 1740“ war auf dem Weg von Los Angeles nach Chicago, als bei der Landung das vordere Fahrwerk nicht ausgefahren werden konnte. Das Flugzeug flog einige Zeit über den Flughafen, damit jemand am Boden den Fehler bestätigen konnte. Die Flughafenfeuerwehr war auf die Notlandung des Flugzeuges vorbereitet, das 136 Menschen und mehr als 10.000 Pfund Kerosin an Bord hatte.

Der Pilot setzte die Nase des Flugzeugs vom Typ McDonnell Douglas MD-82 ganz langsam und weich auf. Funken sprühten über die Landebahn, aber das Flugzeug landete sicher. 

Da die Feuerwehr kein Feuer sichtete, konnten die Passagiere das Flugzeug unbeschadet verlassen. Sie wurden mit einem Bus zum Flughafen gebracht.