{"id":140219,"date":"2026-01-27T20:56:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/140219\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T20:56:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:56:50","slug":"nasa-research-plane-makes-belly-landing-at-houstons-ellington-airport-after-mechanical-problem-houston-public-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/140219\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA research plane makes belly landing at Houston\u2019s Ellington Airport after mechanical problem \u2013 Houston Public Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"NASA<\/p>\n

NASA<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 At Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Fla., the WB-57F aircraft taxis on the airfield before its test flight in July 2005.<\/p>\n

A NASA research plane made a belly landing at Houston’s Ellington Airport on Tuesday morning after a mechanical issue, the space agency said.<\/p>\n

According to Bethany Stevens, NASA’s press secretary, all crew members are safe after a WB-57 made a gear-up landing, meaning its landing gear was not fully deployed.<\/p>\n

Today, a mechanical issue with one of NASA’s WB-57s resulted in a gear-up landing at Ellington Field. Response to the incident is ongoing, and all crew are safe at this time. As with any incident, a thorough investigation will be conducted by NASA into the cause. NASA will…<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bethany Stevens (@NASASpox) January 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

“As with any incident, a thorough investigation will be conducted by NASA into the cause,” she said in a post on X. “NASA will transparently update the public as we gather more information.”<\/p>\n

Video shared by Houston’s CBS affiliate KHOU<\/a> show the plane skidding along the runway as flames and smoke follow behind it.<\/p>\n

The landing happened around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports, said in a statement. He added that first responders with a military subcontractor were responding to the incident, and the runway would be closed until the aircraft could be removed.<\/p>\n

Three WB-57s are operated by the Johnson Space Center and are based at Ellington Airport. The 72,000-pound plane is designed to travel for extended periods of time up to 63,000 feet in the air.<\/p>\n

The WB-57’s entry on NASA’s aircraft list<\/a> describes the plane as having been “flying research missions since the early 1970\u2019s, and continue to be an asset to the scientific community with professional, reliable, customer-oriented service designed to meet all scientific objectives.”<\/p>\n

The Johnson Space Center deferred to Stevens’ statement when asked about the incident and what the research plane was doing as it made the landing.<\/p>\n

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