Photo courtesy of LAFirePhotos.com
On Wednesday, September 21, 2005, at 4:28 p.m. PDT, twenty-four companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, one Assistant Chief Officer Command Team, five Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, four Battalion EMS Supervisors, twenty LAFD Rescue Ambulances, LAFD Heavy Rescue 56, two LAFD Urban Search and Rescue Teams, two LAFD Helicopters, one Los Angeles County Battalion Chief, one LA County Fire Company, two LA County Fire Boats, two Coast Guard Fire Boats, five private Ambulances, and other city and state agencies, under the direction of Deputy Chief Mario D. Rueda, were pre-deployed to Los Angeles International Airport in response to an inbound JetBlue aircraft with a nose gear problem.

The Los Angeles Fire Department was informed that a JetBlue Airbus, with one hundred and forty-five passengers and crew-members departing Bob Hope Airport in Burbank en route to JFK Airport in New York, had discovered a problem with its landing gear.

The pilot was directed to divert to Long Beach Airport for an emergency landing. On a low altitude fly-by at Long Beach Airport, it was quickly ascertained by the tower that the nose gear of the aircraft was not properly in place for a routine landing.

Due to the position of the nose gear at a 90-degree angle and the problem that may ensue upon landing, the aircraft was directed to land at LAX on Runway 25Left, the southern most runway.

At approximately 6:17 p.m. PDT, with LAFD resources strategically place along the runway and staged at a nearby fire station, JetBlue Flight 292 landed safely on runway 25Left amid sparks, smoke, and flames from the burning tires.

All of the passengers and crewmembers were safely evacuated from the aircraft via air stairs and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the malfunctioning nose gear is under investigation by LAX authorities, the NTSB, the FAA, and other investigative agencies.

Submitted by Jim Wells, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department