Business jet makes ‘wheels-up’ landing in Las Vegas

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1999 | 9:02 a.m.

Dawn Paparone says she just "turned it over to God" when she learned the jet carrying her family would have to land on its belly after the landing gear failed to lock into place.

"If this is your plan, then I'm glad my children are with me," Paparone said after the pilot of the plane told the family to pray. "I just had to rely on my faith, and I was just grateful that they were with me."

Paparone, her husband, Don, their four children and two pilots walked away after the Beech Hawker Siddeley jet screeched to a halt on a runway at McCarran International Airport Tuesday evening. The jet shot flames as it was trailed by fire engines and ambulances.

"It was the most terrifying thing I've ever gone through in my life," the mother said. "We didn't know what kind of landing it was going to be. We just held hands and prayed, our whole family together."

The Paparones and their four children - ages 18, 14, 9 and 6 - from Cherry Hill, N.J., had stopped in Salina, Kan. to refuel and were on their way to Las Vegas.

McCarran spokesman John Hanks said the pilot reported the landing gear on the two-engine jet would not lock in place as the craft approached Las Vegas, where the family planned to vacation. The plane made two passes above the airport control tower to make sure the gear was not down, then circled northwest of Las Vegas to burn fuel.

Dawn Paparone said the pilots - whose names were not released - made a futile effort to lower the gear manually, but it wouldn't drop.

"They said they'd never had to land like that," she recounted. "They were really scared. They said it's going to catch fire, and we're going to have to jump off.

"They told us to pray and be calm. I just turned it over to God."

Hanks said the plane landed on its belly and skidded to a stop.

Landing on the plane's belly was an uncommon and dangerous move, Hanks said, but few options existed.

"This plane is built so that it can make this sort of landing," Hanks said. "It's not easy. They train for it. This guy did a great job."

The plane will be examined by the Federal Aviation Administration, Hanks said.

Dawn Paparone and her husband, a home builder, are on the board of Friends of the Children, a non-profit organization in New Jersey that aids sexually abused children. In March they were honored by the organization for helping to raise $180,000 to build a child-abuse center in Camden County.