An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 experienced a landing so rough during Storm Hilary that the left-hand landing gear punctured through the wing, causing sparks to fly as the left-hand engine dragged along the runway while landing at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California on Sunday night.
Dramatic video taken by a passenger onboard the flight showed sparks flying from the left-hand wing shortly after the plane touched down. The landing was so hard that passengers immediately screamed out as the plane continued down the runway.
Once the aircraft had come to a complete stop, the extent of the damage soon became clear, and passengers had to be evacuated from the aircraft via airstairs because the 14-year-old Boeing 737NG was disabled and couldn’t taxi to the gate.
Alaska Airlines flight AS1288 from Seattle landed in Santa Ana at around 11:14 pm on Sunday. The initial touchdown was so hard that the landing gear on the left-hand side of the aircraft ‘punctured’ through the wing.
As the aircraft accelerated, the left-hand engine then dragged along the runway until the aircraft came to a stop. Unsurprisingly, the aircraft remains grounded at Santa Ana, and the return flight to Seattle had to be cancelled.
Thankfully, there were no injuries reported amongst the 106 passengers and six crew members onboard.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined, and investigators will need to establish whether weather conditions in the area played a part in this incident. Investigators will also examine whether a technical issue may have played a part in the landing gear puncturing through the wing.
Note that the tropical storm is correctly spelled Hilary, not Hillary.