TAM Airlines A330 Makes Emergency Landing at JFK with Nose Gear Issue [VIDEO]

TAM Airbus A330

A TAM Airlines plane made an emergency landing Wednesday at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) when the nose gear of the Airbus A330 jet would not lock in its correct position.

TAM Flight 8078, with 190 people on board, circled JFK so airport personnel on the ground could get a visual check on the nose gear’s position. The gear was cocked at a sideways angle.

The pilots finally made an emergency landing with the out of position gear.

The New York Post reports:

‘As the jet approached Kennedy, its nose gear dropped down — but the wheels were turned at a right angle.

“It appears cocked at 90 degrees,” a controller radioed one of the pilots.

Capt. Moacir de Oliveira, 58, who has 2,800 hours of experience on the A330, then proceeded with an emergency landing after consulting with his flight crew, the airline’s headquarters in Brazil and controllers.

Seconds after the landing gear beneath the jet’s wings touched the runway, the nose gear suddenly locked itself in the correct direction.

“It appears as you were landing the nose gear did straighten out,” the controller radioed as the plane rolled down Kennedy’s Bay Runway, which at 14,500 feet is one of the nation’s longest.’

The A330 made a normal rollout to the taxiway where emergency vehicles were waiting.

There were no reported injuries but many relieved passengers.

Source

Image: Flickr [lrargerich]