A Alaska Airlines flight made a hard landing during the tropical storm Hilary late on Sunday night with sparks flying across the night sky over John Wayne Airport in Southern California.
Flight 1288 was travelling between Seattle in Washington to Santa Ana in Orange County and seems to have struck the ground, and was dragging its left wing along the tarmac’s short length in accordance with the video shared on social media.
The passengers on board may be heard screaming in the video’s duration of a minute when the plane comes into striking collision with ground. In addition bright orange and white streaks can be seen coming out through a left-hand passenger’s window.
“There’s sparks out there! Why are there sparks out in the open?” one person could be heard saying.
Alaska Airline officials explained that the plane “experienced problems shortly after it landed” in the rain around 11:15 p.m. local time.
“The aircraft was unable take off to the gate because of an issue with the landing gear” official said in an announcement, noting that the Boeing 737 “parked on a taxiway, which is where it remains.”
The flight carried six crew members. All were safely deplaned, and then transported on buses to the departure point. There was no injury to anyone.
Winds gusty and rain were reported at the time.
When the plane made its flight, the sky was cloudy and drizzly, in the region, it was undergoing the most severe tropical weather in more than 84 years. As per the National Weather Service winds were reaching speeds of 30 mph.
Photos taken by the Orange County Fire Authority, who responded to the crisis aircraft that was off-kilter and the engine on its left side resting upon the runway.
Additional photographs uploaded on X, the social network previously known as Twitter shows a portion of the damage that was sustained by the left wings.
Design of airports can be scary landings
John Wayne Airport has an unusually short runway, measuring just 5,700 feet. By comparison, the shortest runway at Los Angeles International Airport is just under 9,000 feet.
The shorter distance means that pilots have to take off close to 100% power in order to gain the needed momentum to get off the ground swiftly. In addition, landings can be difficult because pilots must use their brakes to slow down the plane on the runway that is short.
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