Video shows flames flying from NASA plane that touched down without landing gear
A NASA research plane crashed and had to land in Texas without landing gear on Tuesday, sliding on its belly onto the runway and sending plumes of flame behind it, video posted on social media showed.
The crew landed at Ellington Airport, southeast of Houston, and are “all safe at this time,” NASA said in an article on X. The federal space agency added that there was a “mechanical issue” that would be investigated.
The aircraft with its distinctive slim fuselage is the NASA WB-57. The plane with two crew seats is capable of flying for about 6 1/2 hours at high altitudes, above 63,000 feet (19,200 meters).
The video shows the plane slowly descending toward the runway, then landing with a jerk, its wings bouncing as yellow fire and white smoke billows from beneath it. He slides regularly on the track, the flames burst and disappear in a cloud of smoke. The plane begins to slow down before the video ends.
KHOU 11 local news footage shows the plane stationary, the cockpit hatch open, fire trucks flashing nearby and rescue workers working around the plane’s black nose.
NASA’s WB-57 has been flying research missions since the 1970s and continues to be an asset to the scientific community, according to the agency’s website.
