CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An NTSB investigator is expected to be at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Thursday to inspect the Delta Boeing 717 plane that made an emergency landing Wednesday.
Delta Flight 1092 landed in Charlotte Wednesday morning without its nose gear. None of the 96 passengers or flight crew were hurt during the landing, which was captured on video by multiple passengers.
The NTSB said its investigators will document the runway, examine the plane and request data from air traffic control, radar and weather reports, as well as contact witnesses to the landing. They could also request maintenance records of the plane and personnel documents for the pilot.
A preliminary report could be available in about 10 to 12 business days, an NTSB spokesperson said.
Passengers told WCNC Charlotte the pilot started circling the airport before notifying them of a mechanical issue with the landing gear. One passenger said the plane made two approaches toward the runway before landing safely.
"Initially we were going down to land and we got 30, maybe 50 feet from the runway and the pilot sped up and kind of took off again," the passenger said. "That was the first sign of, 'Oh, something must be pretty wrong.'"
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."
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