[kellyhound]

On September 8, 2025, a WestJet Boeing 737 suffered a landing gear collapse while landing at Sint Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), prompting an emergency evacuation of the aircraft.

The Boeing 737-800 with registration C-GWSR, was operating flight WS2276 from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to Sint Maarten.

After 4 hours and 46 minutes of flight, it touched down on runway 10 at 13:28 local time (17:28 UTC) when the right main landing gear collapsed.

According to reports, the crew managed to keep the aircraft aligned on the runway and brought it to a complete stop, resting on its nose gear, left main gear, and the right engine nacelle.

Emergency slides were deployed, and all passengers and crew evacuated safely. No injuries were reported among those on board.

Moreover, the emergency services responded quickly, applying foam around the aircraft as a precaution. Video footage shows passengers using the slides to evacuate the aircraft, with fire and rescue vehicles positioned nearby.

The runway has been closed following the incident, causing multiple flight cancellations and diversions. Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta and a JetBlue flight from New York-JFK were diverted to San Juan.

Moreover, multiple return flights including KLM flight KL777 to Port of Spain and American Airlines flight AA456 to Miami have been delayed.

The cause of the gear collapse is not yet known. WestJet stated it is fully cooperating with local authorities in the investigation.

[wildaxboxer]

Still trying to get the smell out the plane

[REVZZYBAN]

Didn’t look like the passengers were in much of a hurry to evacuate. I’ve seen videos of evacuations where it looked like a stream of ants on the slides.

[durt]

That was nice of the engine to save a fucked up landing

[REVZZYBAN]

Originally Posted by durt ↗

That was nice of the engine to save a fucked up landing

Aren’t the main gears designed to keep the engine cowling/nacelle off the ground when the entire main landing gear tires blow out during landings?

[durt]

Originally Posted by REVZZYBAN ↗

Aren’t the main gears designed to keep the engine cowling/nacelle off the ground when the entire main landing gear tires blow out during landings?

Ya, but yer only aloud to hit at so many G's before the gear fails

look at that RJ in YYZ last winter, similar event.

[Yanni]

.

[xvxchronoxvx]

Not sure if video is sped up or if they were coming in that fast. If it is not sped up, the speed of the aircraft should explain a lot.

[William May]

There was a 737-300 that had a gear problem, because a set of chocks was left in the wheel well, and fell between the wheels on one side gear or the other. They couldn't extend that gear, and wound up landing on the engine nacelle on that side.

The carbon fiber engine nacelle was so tough, that one of the guys who worked the recovery of the aircraft, said that the engine cowl took all of the beating. The only damage to the engine on that side was to the drain lines that drain oil, air, hydraulic fluid and fuel from any leaks. Those and the cowl were ground down, but the accessory case and accessories on the bottom of the engine, (fuel pump, hydraulic pump, IDG and generator., etc) were untouched. It never ground down far enough to touch any of that stuff.

They inspected the engine, put new cowl assemblies on it, carried out a full functional test, did an oil change and a borescope to check for any debris being swallowed by the engine while it was operating (none found, and no damage found, either) and it was back in service again.

The landing gear wasn't damaged either, as the chock let one wheel out of the well, then slipped into the gap, and stopped it from extending further. The crew saw they had a red light, but did not know what was going on, other than that the gear on that side was NOT locked down, because no green light.

So they got off easy on that one.