Plane Makes Emergency Landing At LAX (VIDEO)

LOS ANGELES (CNS/FOX 11) - A United Airlines regional jetliner made an emergency landing Monday at Los Angeles International Airport with a landing gear problem, but no one was hurt.

From Christina Gonzalez:

"It was pretty calm, actually..." the words from most of the passengers of a S Canadair Regional Jet which had to land without part of its landing gear today at LAX. Skywest flight #5316 had called in the tower saying they were having problems with their landing gear.

"They told us to bend forward and over, and brace ourselves" said one of the 40 passengers aboard. Most admitted they were thinking about their families, as the plane decesnded onto the runway. It actually lost the left gear upon landing, and the wind hit the runway, with sparks visible as the plane slowed down to a stop.

"I couldn't believe there was so little shaking" smiled one passenger, another adding that "this is actually a better landing that some of the ones I've had with a full landing gear".

The passengers and 3 crew members were evacuated quickly. 31 of the passengers were flyiing on to other locations, and made their connections. The 9 staying in L.A. faced a lot of cameras waiting at the terminal, sharing their stories of surprise, and relief, that all had gone so well.

The plane has been moved to a hangar for inspection, no cause has been offered to media. Effect to LAX was rather minimal, with the delay of 4 united flights, and one cancellation. One flight in from Mexico was diverted to Tijuana.

Again, everyone made it just fine, no injuries, and so far, no cause.

Earlier:

The Canadair Regional Jet 200 aircraft landed about 8:30 a.m. The 40 passengers and three crew members aboard flight 5316 from Monterey got off the airplane safely.

"A SkyWest regional jet was unable to extend its left main landing gear and landed on Runway 24L with the gear retracted,'' said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The incident was under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA.

LAX spokeswoman Nancy Suey Castles said the aircraft stopped on Runway 24L near the intersection of Taxiways E and Z, near the middle of the runway, and the passengers were bused to Gate 81.

"The NTSB has cleared the aircraft to be removed from the runway, which we anticipate will be a few more hours following recovery operations and runway inspections,'' Castles said about 11:20 a.m. "There were no significant impacts to LAX operations.''

United Airlines experienced four delays and one flight cancellation. One Aeromexico flight from Mexico City was diverted to Tijuana. No other airlines reported delays or cancellations, Castles said.

From Gigi Graciette:

The crew of three aboard SkyWest Flight 5316, operating as United Express from Monterey to Los Angeles, knew they had a problem as they approached LAX.

And it was serious.

The left main landing gear wouldn't extend on the Canadair regional jet 200, and could seriously impact the landing.

That's when LAX went on High Alert Two with emergency crews, including 100 firefighters, sent to runaway 24. As the 40 passengers aboard were told to brace themselves for an emergency landing.

"They were very calm and cool about what we should do. How we should brace for the landing," said passenger Traci Reid. "The flight crew was incredible."

We watched the landing live from Skyfox and saw the left wing seemingly collapse as the plane skidded to a stop.

"We had a person in front of us who was a retired stewardess and she was talking to us the whole time," said passenger Joe Bone. "She told us everything that was happening and she did a fantastic job."

"This is what was amazing about the pilot," said Traci Reid. "It was an incredibly smooth landing. I would say it was smoother than some of the landings I've had where all of the landing gear was down! After we skidded to a halt everyone gave the pilot a big round of applause."

Another passenger who thought the pilot did an amazing job was Dennis Thanasse from Canada.

"Did you get to shake the pilot's hand?" I asked him.

"No, but I wish I had!" he replied, telling me that if he had the chance he'd like to personally thank the pilot.