A WestJet aircraft made a “hard landing” in St. Maarten on Sunday after part of its landing gear collapsed.
The airplane, a Boeing 737-800 operating from Toronto, touched down at Princess Juliana International Airport around 3:30 p.m. local time when its right main landing gear failed. The flight crew managed to keep the aircraft on the runway, and it came to a stop on its nose gear, left main gear, and right engine.
WestJet confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday.
“Emergency services responded immediately, deploying foam as a precaution,” the statement read. “The aircraft’s slides were activated, and all guests and crew safely evacuated and were transported to the terminal. All guests are accounted for and there are no reported injuries.”
St. Maarten officials said there were a total of 164 people on board.
WATCH: Scary moments at St. Maarten minutes ago— WestJet Boeing 737-8 (C-GWSR) suffers a hard landing, causing the right main gear to collapse.
Flight #WS2276 was landing from Toronto,YYZ when the incident unfolded.
📹: SHOWMECaribbean pic.twitter.com/5H4159xeF8
— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) September 7, 2025
Footage of the incident shows the right side of the 737 bouncing after hitting the runway, followed by a plume of gray smoke.
The airplane’s right-side wing was damaged during the landing.
Princess Juliana International Airport, the main airport on St. Maarten, remained shut down Monday morning as crews inspected the aircraft and worked to move it from the runway. Airport leaders said the airplane should be off the runway by around noon local time. Staff will have to inspect the runway’s integrity before flights in and out of the airport can resume.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Monday that it will lead the investigation into the accident. The agency is deploying a team to St. Maarten to begin its assessment.
