EAST ELMHURST — The Southwest Airlines plane that collapsed upon landing at LaGuardia Airport on Monday touched down improperly nose first, officials said Thursday.
According to the National Transportation Safety Bureau, evidence from video and other sources were consistent with the nose gear of Southwest Flight 345 making contact with the runway before the main land gear, as first reported by DNAinfo.
The flight, coming in from Nashville at about 5:40 p.m., bounced halfway across the runway and stopped near a grassy section of the airport, according to officials.
After touchdown, the Boeing 737 came to a stop within approximately 19 seconds, the bureau said.
The flight's 143 passengers and six crew exited the plane using emergency chutes. Ten people were injured in the accident and the airport was closed for an hour and a half.
The NTSB plans to analyze the cockpit's "black box" voice recorder on Friday.
