Moment Alaska Airlines flight sparks during rough landing at airport

Passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines flight bound for California received the scare of a lifetime when their plane began shaking, sparking and smoking during a rough landing.

Video from inside Flight 1288 shows the moment the plane, which departed from Seattle, was landing at John Wayne Airport on Sunday, much to the excitement of 16-year-old passenger Abhi Amineni, who was filming the scene.

The teen’s fascination, however, quickly turned to terror when the plane hit the ground with a sudden jolt, with passengers heard screaming and cursing at the rough landing.

When the teen’s camera refocuses to the view outside the window, sparks could be seen flying up as the tip of the wing fit the ground, followed by thick smoke as the plane’s landing gear failed.

Fortunately, no one was injured as a result of the incident, and all passengers were escorted off the plane by Orange County firefighters.

Amineni told CBS News that he never encountered such an abrasive landing before, attributing the incident to the passing Tropical Storm Hilary.

“As we were making the final approach everything kept shaking,” he said. “Normally, this type of shaking is just normal turbulence but it normally doesn’t happen this close to the ground.”

“You have to give the pilot credit,” Ahkil Arunkumar, who was also on the flight with Amineni, told CBS.

“You’re landing in high winds, low visibility and with one of the shortest commercial runways – it’s a recipe for disaster, so you have to give a pat on the back to the pilot.”

The John Wayne Airport notably has among the shortest runways in the nation, measuring 5,700 feet, much shorter than the neighboring LAX runway, whose shortest runway measures at 9,000 feet.

Alaska Airlines said in a statement that the plane had run into an issue with its landing gear during the rain at 11:15 p.m., adding that the plane remains parked on the runway, damaged from the landing.

The plane could be seen sitting in the airport, standing off-kilter with its left engine resting on the ground.

“The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority,” the company said in a statement. “While this incident is a rare occurrence, our flight crews train extensively to safely manage through many scenarios. Our maintenance and safety teams are inspecting the aircraft.”