(Reuters) – A U.S. Airways plane with 149 people on board that was about to take off from Philadelphia International Airport had its nose gear collapse on the runway on Thursday, but no one was injured in the incident, an airport spokeswoman said.
The mishap at about 6:30 p.m. local time (2230 GMT) halted operations at the airport and the plane remains at the end of a runway, said airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica. She said passengers were relocated to a terminal and operations at the airport were expected to resume soon.
“As quickly as we move the aircraft, then everything will be fine,” Lupica said.
The plane involved in the incident was U.S. Airways Flight 1702, according to Philadelphia television station CBS 3, which showed a photograph of the plane with crumpled nose gear on what appeared to be a dirt area just off a runway.
That flight was listed as destined for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the U.S. Airways website. U.S. Airways is owned by American Airlines Group Inc.
A person walks around a damaged US Airways jet at the end of a runway at the Philadelphia International Airport, Thursday, March 13, 2014, in Philadelphia. Airline officials said the flight was heading to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., when the pilot was forced to abort takeoff around 6:30 p.m., after the front landing gear failed. An airport spokeswoman said no injuries have been reported