The FAA says that damage to the UNITED AIRLINES A319 that landed at Newark, New Jersey, this past Sunday, January 10, with its right main landing gear retracted, is less than originally thought. UAL Flight 634 was on Domestic Service from Chicago OHare to Newark, with 48 passengers and 5 crew members onboard, when the incident took place. The crew had to abandon their 1st approach for landing after the right hand main gear would not extend. Before the emergency landing, the Pilots attempted to fix the gear problem while airborne after being vectored by controllers to airspace SW of the Airport. A fly-by of the tower afterward confirmed that the right gear was not extended. The crew landed on its 2nd attempt and were able the aircraft on the runway. All passengers and crew were evacuated via the emergency slides, with no injuries reported. Despite earlier reports that indicated that the aircraft's right wing had been damaged in addition to the underside of the right engine nacelle after the gear-up landing, the FAA said that after lifting the twin-jet from the ground, it was determined that damage was limited to the nacelle and some scratches on the underside of the aircraft. UAL has not confirmed the damage assessment and has not given an estimate on when, or if, the aircraft will be returned to service. The FAA is continuing its investigation, which will include analysing the landing gear problem itself, along with finding out why 1 of the emergency evacuation slides did not deploy. NTSB officials are analysing the flight data recorder, but have not launched their own investigation as yet. Meanwhile, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) will hold a press conference today to highlight "heroic" efforts of Flight 634's crew to safety land the aircraft "under extraordinary circumstances", according to an ALPA press release.
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