Lucky escapes in emergencies at Moscow, Newark

Newark Airport emergency crews sprayed foam to extinguish a landing gear fire. Photo / AP

Part of an airliner carrying about 130 people caught fire as it was landing in Moscow, and passengers evacuated the plane by jumping off one of its wings and shooting down an evacuation slide.

The Emergencies Ministry said none of the passengers and crew members was injured by the fire on the landing gear of the Boeing 737 at Vnukovo Airport.

A ministry statement said the plane belonging to Russian carrier UTair was flying to Moscow from the southern city of Stavropol.

The ministry said it was carrying 136 passengers and six crew members, but Russian news agencies quoted the airline as saying there were 129 passengers.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, a US Airways Express flight with 34 people aboard was forced to make a belly landing at Newark International Airport after experiencing landing gear trouble. No injuries were reported.

US Airways spokesman Davien Anderson said a turboprop plane that left Philadelphia landed safely with its landing gear retracted.

Anderson said the flight, operated by Piedmont Airlines, was carrying 31 passengers and three crew members. The plane circled Newark in a holding pattern while working to get the landing gear down. After several failed attempts to get the gear in place, the plane landed on its belly.

Anderson said US Airways was co-operating with the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident.

-AP