Scary landing at LAX for passengers on plane from Monterey

Passengers on a United SkyWest flight that left Monterey Airport at 7:14a.m. Monday morning had a scary landing at Los Angeles International Airport after its landing gear failed to fully deploy.

According to the FAA the left wing of the United SkyWest regional jet scraped the ground around 8:23 a.m. after its left landing gear failed to fully deploy.

LAX said 40 passengers and three crew members were on board the aircraft, “They were just very calm and cool and they told us exactly what we should, how we should put our heads down, how we should brace and then the pilot just brought us right in really smoothly,” said passenger Traci Reid.

Dennis Thanass described his experience after de-boarding, “We were a little nervous. It was very fast. We knew as soon as we missed the airport the first time, we knew they were going to dump the fuel and they flew by the tower to make sure the wheels were up or down.”

Emergency responders checked the 40 passengers and three crew members as they left the plane on a staircase and filed into buses, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said.

“If you take a look at some of the aerial photos, you can actually see the plane tilting a little bit but our airport response firefighter vehicle were out there ready for it,” said LAX spokesperson Mary Grady.

We have left several messages with Monterey Regional Airport officials and are waiting to hear back.

Below is the statement from LAX Public Relations Director Nancy Suey Castles:

No injuries are reported following an emergency landing at LAX of Skywest 5316, a Canadair Regional Jet 200, shortly after 8:30 am this morning. The flight crew safely conducted an emergency landing after the left main gear failed to extend. All 40 passengers and three crewmembers safely deplaned. LA Fire Department, Airport Operations, Airport Police and other emergency-response personnel were staged along Runway 24L on the north airfield as the flight landed under emergency conditions, and reached the aircraft quickly. Passengers were transported by airport buses to Gate 81. LAFD paramedics remain with the passengers in case any medical issues are later reported.

The aircraft stopped on Runway 24L near the intersection of Taxiways E and Z near the middle of the runway. FAA personnel reported to the scene to investigate. The NTSB has cleared the aircraft to be removed from the runway, which we anticipate will be a few more hours following recovery operations and runway inspections.

There were no significant impacts to LAX operations. Skywest 5316 was being operated as United Express from Monterey, CA, to Los Angeles. United Airlines experienced 4 delays and 1 flight cancellation. One Aeromexico flight from Mexico City diverted to Tijuana. No other airlines reported delays/cancellations.

Thirty-one passengers on Skywest 5316 were connecting at LAX and all their checked bags have been transferred to their connecting flights. Nine passengers were destined for LA and the airline indicates those nine have left the airport.