Aircraft with stuck landing gear lands safely

updated 6:14 p.m. ET March 29, 2007

SANFORD, Fla. - A plane with malfunctioning nose landing gear touched down safely in a cloud of sparks and smoke at Orlando Sanford International Airport on Thursday, officials said.

None of the 157 passengers on board the Allegiant Air flight from Portsmouth, N.H., was injured in the landing, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft by slides. A woman sprained her ankle but refused treatment, airport authorities said.

"The aircraft experienced a hydraulic problem with the front nose gear. The nose gear was not coming down. They circled around for an hour and finally managed to land without it," Diane Crews, the airport's executive vice president, told CNN.

"There were some sparks and a lot of smoke, no flames," she said.

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