Stuff article and vid here too..
Looked like a damn fine landing to me...
www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/5892715/Passenger-jet-makes-belly-landingPassenger jet makes belly landing.
LATEST: A Boeing airliner carrying 231 people from the US has landed on its belly in Warsaw after its landing gear failed to open, triggering sparks and small fires.
No one was hurt, but passengers described feeling severe stress as they prayed for a safe landing.
The pilots of the Polish LOT airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, discovered there was a problem before touching ground. They circled the 767 above the airport for about one hour before descending without lowering the wheels, said Przemyslaw Przybylski, a spokesman for the Warsaw airport.
The plane, escorted by two F-16 fighter jets, landed with nearly empty fuel tanks after dumping fuel in preparation for the emergency landing, LOT spokesman Leszek Chorzewski said.
"I was praying for the pilot not to lose control because we started to make circles over the airport. It was terrible," passenger Teresa Kowalik told reporters at the airport. "We owe everything to the pilot. He really did a great job."
A fire brigade laid out special flame retardant foam for the plane to land on. On landing, sparks flew from the engine and small fires erupted under the plane but were immediately put out by firefighters. The passengers evacuated the plane using an emergency slide.
The pilot told passengers four hours into the flight that the plane faced technical problems said a passenger who only gave her first name, Malgorzata.
"The pilot addressed us a number of times and said we should follow instructions. Later, a flight attendant said there might be a fire, and at that point people began to get nervous and uncertain," she said.
The landing was not especially hard but the situation became alarming when sparks and black smoke rose from the plane, said Krzysztof Rozycki, a 17-year-old passenger who spoke to reporters.
Relatives of passengers waiting at the airport sought information as the emergency unfolded.
Joanna Dabrowska, 29, managed to speak to her mother-in-law, a passenger, via mobile phone after she evacuated the flight. Dabrowska said some of the passengers apparently feared the worst.
"People were saying their final farewells to each other and some were sobbing," Dabrowska told The Associated Press. She added that her mother-in-law "was in shock, but she was fine."
Passengers were taken to a medical centre and were examined by doctors, Przybylski said.
Meanwhile, Polish officials and media were declaring the pilots and crew heroes. LOT said there were 11 crew and 220 passengers on the LO 016 flight.
LOT airlines president, Marcin Pirog, told reporters that Captain Tadeusz Wrona and co-pilot Jerzy Szwartz carried out a "perfect emergency landing," which prevented anyone from being injured.
"It is the first time a LOT plane had to land without the landing gear out," Pirog said, noting that such landings do not always end well.
Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski congratulated and thanked the crew and emergency workers for ensuring no one was hurt.
"I thank everyone with my whole heart in the name of Poland," Komorowski said.
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The airport has been closed until 8am on Wednesday (8pm today, NZ time). Flights which had been scheduled to land in Warsaw have been diverted to Lodz, Gdansk and Krakow.
- AP
