Three people were taken to a hospital for evaluation after a WestJet Boeing 737 suffered a landing gear collapse on the Caribbean Island of Sint Maarten on Sunday. Video shows the plane’s right main gear touching first and the right engine nacelle making brief contact with the pavement. There was a noticeable list to the right as the aircraft continued the rollout trailing smoke. The passengers left the aircraft on the emergency slides. WestJet said there were no injuries among the 164 passengers and five crew but did not elaborate on why the three passengers were taken to a hospital. It said the aircraft did not catch fire.
An earlier version of this story said the incident was a hard landing but subsequent investigation revealed it was within normal parameters and the gear collapse happened after a trunnion pin broke.
The flight originated in Toronto and the airline said it was still gathering information on the incident late Sunday. “At this time, we are awaiting confirmation on the exact nature of the incident,” WestJet said in a statement. “Our teams are focused on supporting our guests and crew, ensuring their safety and care remain our highest priority.” Sint Maarten is notorious for windy conditions and the video shows the crew battling the wind on final.
Ouch! Owing to troves of voyeurs with cameras at Sunset Bar and Grill perched beside the numbers,, one wants always to make one’s best landings ever at Sint Maarten. In defense of this crew I did notice shafts of rain which could easily have been accompanied by wind gusts. That and knowing one is on Candid Camera makes for occasionally tight knuckles. Retrain, get some rest and go at it again better for the experience.
The approach looked stable enough. The pilots would have added the cross wind and gust factor to their approach speed. The landing was within the touchdown zone but there appears to be no arrest of the descent in the last 20 feet or so. Similar to the Endeavour CRJ that flipped over in Toronto earlier in the year. Had the pilots realized that when the jet “yells” 50, 40…. and the descent rate, cross control for the crosswind and gusts isn’t spot on…GO AROUND. Never try to save a bad landing.