Landing gear of US Airways plane collapses

More than 150 people were evacuated from a US Airways flight after a Florida-bound plane’s front landing gear collapsed on a runway.


Flights were halted at Philadelphia International Airport as those on board exited the plane via inflatable ramps.

One person asked for medical assistance but no major injuries were reported, airport officials said.

An airport spokeswoman said the plane was about to take off when the malfunction happened.

The Airbus 320 was carrying 149 passengers and five crewmembers.

A passenger, Dennis Fee, told local broadcaster WPVI it was “very windy and when the plane took off, the nose of the plane went back down, hitting the runway”.

“We were airborne, then struck back down by the nose,” Fee said.

The airport spokeswoman, Victoria Lupica, said all the passengers had been rescheduled on another flight to Fort Lauderdale.

US Airways spokesman William McGlashen said: “Initial reports indicate Flight 1702 from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale (Florida) blew a tyre on take-off and the pilot elected to abort take-off.”

Three of the four runways were reopened later on Thursday evening.