NTSB photo
The nose landing gear collapsed as a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 was landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport at 5:45 p.m. on Monday. The gear failed rearward and upward, the NTSB said on Tuesday afternoon, damaging the electronics bay. The exterior fuselage also was damaged from sliding 2,175 feet on its nose along Runway 4 before coming to rest off the right side of the runway. All 150 on board evacuated the airplane. Three passengers and five crew were taken to local hospitals, where they were treated and released, according to Southwest.The runway was closed for over an hour.
On Tuesday, NTSB investigators recovered the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. Safety board investigators plan to interview the pilots, collect witness accounts and any video or photo evidence of the accident, and review relevant records, and may test materials in the NTSB laboratory. The video below shows that at least one wheel came off the aircraft and came to rest a few hundred yards from the damaged aircraft.
