Emergency Landing

Like you, I'm presently glued to the TV -- actually, on the internet, as KABC, KNBC, KCBS and KCAL all stream their live coverage of the JetBlue plane circling LAX, waiting to attempt an emergency landing. Channels 2, 4, 7, 9 and 11 are all live, while channels 5 and 13 are still airing regular programming. (LAObserved notes that KCBS took the longest to jump in with live coverage, having stuck with "Dr. Phil.")

From the LATimes:

A JetBlue aircraft, carrying 145 passengers and crew, was attempting an emergency landing this evening after the flight to New York City was found to have a broken landing gear.

The plane, an Airbus 320, was preparing to land at LAX about 5:50 p.m.

More than 100 Los Angeles firefighters and paramedics positioned themselves near the south side of LAX in preparation for the emergency landing on runway 25L, said city of Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells.

"They will put some foam on it if something happens," Wells said.

The flight originated at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. The tense drama of the flight's fate was televised live.

Flight 292 left Burbank at 3:17 p.m., enroute to JFK International Airport, according to Bryan Baldwin, a spokesman for JetBlue.

There were 139 passengers aboard and a crew of six, according to JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin.

"Shortly after the plane left, the pilot discovered he may have a problem with the landing gear," FAA spokesman Donn Walker said in a telephone interview.

After it left Burbank, the flight was diverted to Long Beach Airport, where the plane circled.

"The aircraft is currently burning off fuel," Baldwin said. "It will take 90 minutes to burn off fuel. It's not clear yet where it will land. It will land somewhere in Southern California."

Stew Sawyer, a Long Beach resident who lives two blocks from the airport, said he was listening to the control tower radio when he heard controllers discussing the problem with the JetBlue pilot.

"I heard the pilot asking for emergency equipment," Sawyer said. "The tower told him to go back up and burn off fuel. The pilot asked for a fly-by so that the tower could check his landing gear. He did a flyby real low and the tower said, 'Your landing gear is 90-degrees the wrong way.'"

The good news: Everyone seems to believe that this will end OK, other than a badly scraped-up plane. One expert said he was more concerned about people injuring themselves while sliding down the emergency shutes once the plane lands.

Something else I'm wondering: Because JetBlue provides live DirecTV on their flights, are the passengers on board watching coverage of their predicament? Talk about surreal: Sitting in a plane, watching coverage of that aircraft in the sky, as people discuss crash landings. Yikes.

UPDATE, 6:24 p.m.: Success!