A NASA research aircraft was forced to make a gear-up landing at Ellington Airport in Houston late Tuesday morning after experiencing a "mechanical" problem, the space agency said. Dramatic video footage circulating on social media shows the aircraft landing without its landing gear deployed, skidding along the runway on its belly and sending plumes of flame behind it.
Here's the video
In the video, the plane is seen descending slowly toward the runway before touching down with a visible jolt. Its wings appear to bounce as sparks, flames, and thick white smoke erupt from beneath the fuselage. The aircraft continues sliding along the runway, with bursts of fire briefly flaring up and then disappearing into clouds of smoke as it decelerates.
Local news footage from KHOU 11 shows the plane at a stop, the cockpit hatch open, fire trucks flashing nearby, and emergency responders working around the black nose of the aircraft.
KHOU 11 reported that the pilot was able to climb out of the cockpit with the assistance of emergency responders.
According to a statement from Houston Airports, the incident happened around 11:30 am as the aircraft was landing on Runway 17R–35L at Ellington Airport. First responders with a military subcontractor handled the response. The runway was closed while crews worked to remove the aircraft.
What did NASA say?
NASA later confirmed that a mechanical issue led to the gear-up landing involving one of its WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft. The crew landed the plane at Ellington Airport, southeast of Houston, and are "all safe at this time," NASA said in a post on X. The federal space agency added that there was a "mechanical issue" that will be investigated.
"Today, a mechanical issue with one of NASA's WB-57s resulted in a gear-up landing at Ellington Field. Response to the incident is ongoing, and all crew are safe at this time. As with any incident, a thorough investigation will be conducted by NASA into the cause. NASA will transparently update the public as we gather more information," NASA said.
About the aircraft
The aircraft with its distinct thin fuselage is the NASA WB-57. The plane with two crew seats is capable of flying for about 6 1/2 hours at high altitudes — beyond 63,000 feet. It is used for scientific and atmospheric research missions.
The NASA WB-57 has flown research missions since the 1970s and continues to be an asset for the scientific community, according to the agency's website.
The aircraft can:
- Fly for about 6.5 hours
- Travel up to 2,500 nautical miles
- Carry up to 8,800 pounds of payload
- Reach airspeeds of about 410 knots
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