A Southwest Airlines crash plane's front landing gear collapsed during its arrival at LaGuardia Airport in New York Monday night. According to a statement from Southwest, of the 150 people on board, five passengers and three flight attendants reported injuries. Following the incident, passengers were transferred from the plane to the terminal: Southwest Airlines flight 345 landed at New York's LaGuardia at 5:40 PM Eastern Monday evening from Nashville. The aircraft is a Boeing 737-700. Eyewitness reports indicate the aircraft's nose gear collapsed upon landing. Following the landing, WNYW reports, "[t]he emergency chutes deployed, and first responders guided the passengers off and away from the aircraft." According to the Associated Press, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey temporarily closed the airport, with one of runways later reopening. In a press conference, the Port Authority said they hoped to have everything reopened Tuesday. WATCH NBC 4 New York's exclusively obtained footage of the plane skidding down the runway:
Investigation After New York Plane Crash - Southwest Airlines
7/23/13 - Federal investigators try to determine why the landing gear of a Southwest Airlines plane collapsed causing the plane to crash onto a runway at La Guardia airport in New York.
La Guardia airport was temporarily closed after a Southwest Airlines plane collapsed on a runway shortly after landing. The Boeing 737-700, which was flying from Nashville, had 143 people on board when its front landing gear collapsed, causing the jet to crash nose-down into the runway.
Thomas Bosco the general manager of La Guardia airport, which mostly deals with domestic US flights, said:
"Of the 143 passengers, we had up to 10 persons treated at the scene, four refused medical attention, six were transported to Elmhurst General Hospital.
"The flight crew was taken to Northshore General Hospital for observation."
