A Contact Air passenger Fokker 100 jet carrying Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Franz Müntefering and 77 others was forced to make a crash-landing in Stuttgart Airport without a completely extended landing gear on Monday 14 September 2009.

The 13-year-old Fokker 100 plane traveling from Berlin to Stuttgart for the Lufthansa subsidiary apparently had problems fully extending its landing gear, causing a major alert at the airport.

It was serious, a very serious situation, the 69-year-old Müntefering said. We circled for a long time, tried the descent and then had to crash land.

Emergency rescue staff sprayed flame-retardant foam as the plane landed at 10:49 am in a spray of sparks. Police called it a fortunate ending to the emergency.

The 73 passengers and five crew members exited the plane via emergency slides. One passenger and a flight attendant were slightly injured, though authorities said several people suffered from shock. Passengers were given the opportunity to meet with therapists after the incident.

Authorities closed the Stuttgart airport runway to remove the plane and did not to re-open before evening.

Once in a lifetime is enough, Franz said, adding that passengers on the plane were calm as the pilot explained their situation. One looks at the world and finds it good.

Our thanks go to the captain, who performed with mastery, and his crew, who handled the situation professionally, he said, joking that the landing was softer than with wheels.

Controlled, on profile, and well executed, it was textbook of how an approach and gear up landing should be accomplished.