NY's LaGuardia airport closed as plane lands with nose gear problem

NEW YORK, July 22 (Xinhua) -- New York' s LaGuardia Airport was temporarily closed early Monday evening as the landing gear under the nose of a Southwest Airlines flight collapsed after landing.

A total of 149 people, including crew, were onboard, local media quoted the Port Authority as saying, adding six were hospitalized, four of them for anxiety attacks, and all the passengers have evacuated by emergency chute.

The front wheel of Southwest Airlines Flight 345 from Nashville to LaGuardia popped while the plane was taxiing. The gear then buckled, forcing the nose to the tarmac, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia.

At least a dozen emergency vehicles were on hand at the scene. Heavy delays were reported, with the airport temporarily refusing incoming and departing flights.

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