Plane carrying 152 passengers avoids catastrophe after crash landing at airport

A plane carrying 152 people was forced to crash land at an airport after reports its landing gear has failed.

The plane was en route to Ben Gurion airport in Israel when the drama unfolded.

The airport declared the highest level of emergency and scrambled more than 100 rescue crews including ambulances and fire trucks to the scene.

The pilot successfully landed the aircraft, avoiding disaster. It is understood no one was seriously hurt.

The Electra Air jet was en route to Ben Gurion airport in Israel from Cologne in Germany when the drama unfolded.It was the highest level of emergency declared for eight years.

Military jets conducted close fly-bys of the stricken Boeing 737-400 to examine the damage to the tires and landing gear.

All landing and takeoffs were frozen to make way for the flight to land.

It is understood the pilot was able to use their engines to slow the aircraft and avoid putting pressure on the damage tires.

Neri Yarkoni, an expert in airplane safety, told the Times of Israel newspaper that reports of the emergency landing taking place at Ben Gurion should not be exaggerated.

“We need to calm down. If it were so desperate, the plane wouldn’t have come this entire way, but would have landed in Europe,” he says of the Boeing 737 whose tire apparently exploded during takeoff in Cologne, Germany.

“The best thing for the pilots to do now is to land normally, and there’s a procedure for preventing the other wheels from exploding. The landing has to be as gentle as possible."