A pilot’s first-class landing

A malfunctioning nose gear forced a JetBlue Airways flight that took

off from Bob Hope Airport Wednesday afternoon with 140 passengers and

six crew members on board to make a screeching emergency landing at

Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.

Flight 292 took off at 3:17 p.m. destined for John F. Kennedy

International Airport in New York, but after takeoff a flight

indicator showed that the landing gear was not retracting, JetBlue

spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said.

The plane touched down on its back wheels first, and slowly the

pilot lowered the front landing gear to the runway, with intermittent

sparks and flashes of fire, as the craft eventually came to a stop.

None of the passengers was reported injured.

“It was incredible,” Burghdorf said. “We were so pleased that

everything turned out the way it did. The pilot did an amazing job.”

Passengers were taken to Bradley International Terminal at LAX,

where JetBlue employees helped them with travel arrangements and

medical checks.