Pilot pulled off extraordinary safe landing at LAX after plane's nose gear failed and the state of it after is something to behold
Published on Feb 01, 2026 at 3:20 AM (UTC+4)
by Jason Fan
Last updated on Jan 29, 2026 at 8:30 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
The safe landing of JetBlue Flight 292 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is still called an aviation miracle nearly two decades later.
By all accounts, it was a nightmare mechanical failure.
Passengers reportedly watched live TV coverage of their own emergency from seatback screens.
Yet somehow, everyone walked away safely.
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The state of the landing gear makes the safe landing even more unlikely
On September 21, 2005, Jet Blue Flight 292 took off from Burbank bound for New York.
Soon after departure, the Airbus A320 crew got a warning: the nose landing gear had malfunctioned.
A flyby confirmed the problem: the nose wheels were twisted sideways at a 90-degree angle.
That meant a normal landing was impossible.
The pilots held over Southern California for hours to burn fuel and lighten the aircraft before attempting touchdown.
After some deliberation, they chose LAX for its long, wide runways and emergency support.
Fire crews lined the tarmac, and news helicopters hovered above.
Inside the cockpit, the plan was simple: keep the nose up as long as humanly possible.
The jet touched down smoothly on its main landing gear first.
When the nose finally came down, metal scraped, sparks flew, and smoke trailed behind.
But the aircraft miraculously stayed straight, and slowed safely to a stop.
Somehow, there were no injuries among the 146 people onboard, and the damage was largely limited to the abused nose gear assembly and the plane’s landing gear.
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Air travel is actually really safe
By most accounts, this safe landing was considered an aviation miracle.
However, it’s also a testament to how tough modern airliners are, and how good pilot training has become.
Pilots these days go through really challenging simulations to ensure they’re ready for whatever life throws at them, and JetBlue Flight 292 is proof that this is effective.
Incidents like these prove that engineering strength coupled with good decision-making make flying safer than ever.
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Jason joined the editorial team at Supercar Blondie in April 2025 as a Content Writer. As part of the growing editorial team working in Australia, and in synergy with team members in Dubai, the UK, and elsewhere in the world, he helps keep the site running 24/7, injecting his renowned accuracy and energy into every shift.
