17 JAN 2008 _______________________________________ *Passenger jet in Heathrow accident *************************************** Passenger jet in Heathrow accident Inbound passenger jet lands short of runway at London's Heathrow Airport British Airways says flight from Beijing involved in incident 136 passengers evacuated from plane; three minor injuries reported LONDON, England (CNN) -- Witnesses have described how the pilot of a British Airways passenger jet that crash landed at London's Heathrow Airport on Thursday appeared to be struggling to bring the plane down safely as it came in low over surrounding houses. The wheels of the passenger jet that landed short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport on Thursday. 1 of 3 Images showed the Boeing 777 -- BA flight 38 -- grounded on tarmac after touching down several hundred meters short of the airport's south runway, close to a perimeter road, with its emergency chutes deployed. The undercarriage, left wing and left engine of the aircraft were severely damaged, as if it had skidded across the ground. At least one of the plane's wheels had been torn off. Eyewitness Neil Jones said the plane had made a "very, very unusual approach" to the airport and sounded louder than usual, the UK's Press Association reported. "The aircraft was banking to the left and it was coming in very low over the surrounding houses," Jones said. "The plane was significantly lower than it would normally be. I could see the undercarriage was down and the wing flaps were down. I don't know how many engines were working. "You could see the pilot was desperate, trying to get the plane down. The aircraft hit the grass and there was a lot of dirt. The pilot was struggling to keep the plane straight. I think he did a great job." Jerome Ensinck, a passenger aboard the flight, said there had been no indication that the plane was making an emergency landing, PA reported. "There was no indication that we were going to have a bad landing," he said. "When we hit the ground it was extremely rough, but I've had rough landings before and I thought 'This is the roughest I've had'. "Then the emergency exits were opened and we were all told we should go through as quickly as possible, and the moment I was away from the plane I started to realise that the undercarriage was away, and we had missed the runway. "I feel lucky at the moment, but I think now I realise I've had a close call. If we had hit the runway, it would have been worse." Tire tracks hundreds of meters long could be seen in the grass behind the plane, which was surrounded by fire engines and other emergency vehicles and had been doused in fire-fighting foam. A spokesman for Heathrow -- the world's busiest airport -- said the flight had carried out an emergency landing at 12.42pm GMT. In a statement, British Airways said all 136 passengers had been evacuated from the plane with three minor injuries. Airport authorities said Heathrow's southern runway had been closed, but the northern runway remained open. But the incident immediately led to major delays for passengers. A spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police said there was nothing to suggest the incident was terror-related. The Boeing 777 is the mainstay of many airlines' long-haul fleets and has never been involved in a fatal accident. However, the aircraft involved in Thursday's incident appeared to have had a fortunate escape, having approached Heathrow over heavily-populated west London suburbs before its crash landing. "This is the closest we've come to a major catastrophe," CNN's Richard Quest said. The incident occurred as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was due to leave Heathrow for a visit to China and India. His flight was delayed but his jet was not directly involved, PA said. • British Airways has set up helpline numbers for friends and relatives concerned for passengers involved in the incident: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/17/heathrow.incident/index.html ************* Status: Preliminary Date: 17 JAN 2008 Time: ca 12:50 Type: Boeing 777-236ER Operator: British Airways Registration: G-YMMM C/n / msn: 30314/342 First flight: 2001 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Airplane damage: Substantial Location: London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) (United Kingdom) Phase: Landing Nature: International Passenger Departure airport: Beijing International Airport (PEK/ZBAA), China Destination airport: London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) (LHR/EGLL), United Kingdom Flightnumber: 38 Narrative: British Airways flight BA38 landed short of runway 27 at London-Heathrow. It skidded through the grass and came to rest on the edge of the runway. The main gear smashed through the wing, causing substantial damage. All passengers evacuated safely through the emergency slides. (aviation-safety.net) **************