IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Jet makes fiery emergency landing in Germany

A passenger jet made an emergency landing Monday on a protective layer of foam at Germany's Stuttgart airport after having problems with its landing gear.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A passenger jet made an emergency landing Monday on a protective layer of foam at Germany's Stuttgart airport after having problems with its landing gear.

Stuttgart Airport said five passengers suffered shock and a stewardess was taken to a hospital for observation after the incident but there were no significant injuries.

The Contact Air plane was flying in from Berlin's Tegel airport with 73 passengers and five crew members on board, airline manager Manfred Gaertner said.

The airline said despite several attempts, the crew had been unable to get the plane's landing gear to deploy fully. The jet landed on the foam with the landing gear only partly extended.

Among those on board the Fokker 100 was Franz Muentefering, the chairman of one of Germany's governing parties, the center-left Social Democrats.

"It was a very serious situation," Muentefering said in a statement. "We circled for a long time, attempted the approach and then had to make an emergency landing."

"All remained uninjured," Muentefering said, thanking the plane's captain for a "masterly performance."

Contact Air is a regional partner of Germany's biggest airline, Lufthansa.

The airport's runway was closed following the landing.