Passengers aboard a Frontier Airlines flight from Florida experienced terrifying moments after the plane’s front landing gear suffered a major failure during landing at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday.
The incident, now under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), involved Flight 5306, also reported as 3506, operating from Orlando International Airport to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.
According to the New York Post, the Airbus A321, carrying 228 passengers, made a hard landing during its initial descent, causing one of the wheels on its front landing gear to break off. Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia confirmed a “mechanical problem” led to the wheel detaching.
The aircraft quickly climbed back into the air after the failed attempt.
“We were landing and the landing was very bad, aggressive and at a high speed, this caused one of the tires on the front of the plane to break and catch fire,” passenger Melani Gonzalez Wharton wrote on Facebook, as quoted by Fox News.
Wharton, travelling with her husband and two children, said, “For a few minutes I thought it was the end of our story here on earth.”
Video clips shared online captured smoke outside the windows, while passengers could be heard crying and praying inside.
As per CNN, audio recordings from Broadcastify featured air traffic controllers warning of “debris on the runway” after the harsh landing. “He has declared an emergency,” a controller said, alerting another pilot in the area.
The aircraft circled the airport four times and eventually landed safely at 10:20 pm (local time). No injuries were reported, and passengers were deplaned on the taxiway and transported by bus to the terminal. The flight, typically shorter, lasted over an hour longer due to the emergency.
Frontier Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, “The aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries to the passengers or crew. The incident is under investigation.”
Flight investigator Luis Irizarry was quoted by Puerto Rico’s WAPA-TV as saying that a young co-pilot was initially flying the plane when the landing gear failure occurred. “The captain, however, quickly took control and stabilized the aircraft,” he said, crediting the crew’s calm response for preventing a disaster.
Wharton, referring to the situation, added, “The reality is that we were flying in the hands of inexperts.”
Flight data showed that the plane came within 500 feet of the runway during the initial approach before aborting and circling again. Multiple other flights were diverted as the airport temporarily shut down for safety inspections.
A final report from the FAA and NTSB on the mechanical failure is awaited.
