Landing without wheels: cargo plane skids down Indonesian runway

 

 

WAMENA: -- In Indonesia, a Boeing 737 cargo plane made a scary slide after its wheels collapsed upon landing on Tuesday.

 

The plane scraped against the runway in a cloud of smoke. It was carrying over 14 tonnes of fuel to be distributed to remote areas in Papua province.

 

Local authorities said there were no injuries to report, but they temporarily closed Wamena airport to remove the plane fuselage and repair damage done to the tarmac.

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-09-14

Wheels were optional on that model 

pilot showing off

From what is known so far it sounds like the pilot kept his cool and luck was with him.

The fuel for PN has now been distributed around wamena airport

AvHerald didn't indicate any gear extension problem on the way down.  No ILS, low clouds down to 200', hit hard and lost the gear.   

http://avherald.com/h?article=49deae9a&opt=0

This is a non-event, part of a pilots training, and it is included in the optional events tested in any check on a simulator.

No, it's not a non-event.

Even though it is part of a pilots training and is done on simulators, the reality of being faced with that situation would test any pilots courage and skill.