CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All passengers are safe after a Delta Air Lines flight landed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport without its nose gear Wednesday morning.
Delta Flight 1092 departed from Atlanta at 7:25 a.m. and landed in Charlotte at approximately 8:58 a.m., the airline confirmed to WCNC Charlotte. A Delta Air Lines spokesperson reported the crew reported a nose gear issue to air traffic control and safely landed with the nose gear in the up position.
The pilot landed the plane safely and no one was hurt.
Delta confirmed that the plane, a Boeing 717, had 96 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants on board. The flight circled a couple of times before landing, according to flight-tracking data.
A passenger on the plane told WCNC Charlotte the pilot's landing was "absolutely perfect," and said the crew was amazing despite the scary experience.
All passengers were taken to the terminal by bus. Charlotte Douglas said the plane was removed around 7 p.m. and that the runway is now open.
Delta said the cause of the failure is under investigation.
Patrick Lofvenholm, a flight instructor with Race City Flight Operations in Mooresville, said it takes years of training to land a plane like this, noting not only is it extremely difficult, but also that pilots have just seconds to make the right call.
"It's kind of what we all dread," Lofvenholm said. "There's no simulator session that does this. There's no test or training that prepares you for this. You just have to fly the airplane all the way to the ground until it stops."
Lofvenholm said the nose wheel is a critical piece of equipment that uses a forward retraction design and can act as a failsafe in the event of hydraulic pressure loss.
"If I had a choice on all three wheels, out of the main gear or the nose wheel, I would choose the nose wheel every day," Lofvenholm said. "Because the pilot hates to hear the crunch of the metal on the ground, but at least there, you're going straight down the runway."
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