A NASA analysis aircraft malfunctioned and needed to contact down in Texas with out touchdown gear on Tuesday, sliding throughout the runway on its stomach and sending plumes of flame behind it, a video posted to social media confirmed.
The crew landed the aircraft at Ellington Airport, southeast of Houston, and are “all secure at the moment,” NASA stated in a publish on X. The federal house company added that there was “mechanical difficulty” that can be investigated.
The plane with its distinct skinny fuselage is the NASA WB-57. The aircraft with two crew seats is able to flying for about 6 1/2 hours at excessive altitudes — past 63,000 ft (19,200 meters).
Video exhibits the aircraft slowly descending towards the runway, then touching down with a jolt, its wings bouncing as yellow fireplace and white smoke bursts from beneath it. It steadily slides down the observe, the flames bursting and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The plane begins to sluggish earlier than the video ends.
Native information footage from KHOU 11 exhibits the aircraft at a cease, the cockpit hatch open, fireplace vehicles flashing close by and emergency responders working across the black nostril of the plane.
The NASA WB-57 has flown analysis missions because the Nineteen Seventies and continues to be an asset for the scientific neighborhood, in accordance with the company’s web site.
