Southwest Airlines' flight from Nashville to LaGuardia didn't end as planned when the plane had to land without front landing gear. INSIDE EDITION has footage from inside the smoky plane.
A passenger recorded her arrival at New York's LaGuardia airport, but she never expected the rough landing.
Another video captured the view from the ground at the moment of impact as the Boeing 737 skidded along the runway. The nose wheel collapsed on landing, and sparks can be seen in the video. Smoke filled the cabin.
Passengers can be heard saying, “There's smoke here!” while the plane’s crew says, “Hold on! Remain...Hold on!”
Air traffic controllers declared an emergency, saying, “Emergency vehicles proceed on to runway four! Proceed on to runway four! The next arrival is going around.”
Other pilots waiting to take off watched the drama unfold and tried to keep their passengers calm. One pilot said, “They're in the middle of an evacuation, looks like. Not something you see every day. I'm afraid that means we're probably going to have to go back to the gate. I do apologize for that.”
The 149 passengers arriving from Nashville on the Southwest Airlines flight were evacuated down chutes. Twelve people were hospitalized.
"The worst part was when the doors weren't being opened and the smoke was coming in," described one passenger.
The plane was towed off the runway. The investigation is now underway.
