🚨 NASA WB-57 Incident Update One of NASA’s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft conducted a gear-up landing today at Ellington Field in Houston following a mechanical issue that prevented normal landing-gear deployment. Emergency crews responded immediately, and all crew members are safe. No injuries have been reported. The WB-57 is a specialized research aircraft used for atmospheric science, Earth observation, and high-altitude testing. Gear-up landings are rare but are trained emergency pro

A NASA WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft performed an emergency gear-up belly landing at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, on January 27, 2026, around 11:30 a.m. CST due to a mechanical failure preventing the landing gear from deploying. Video footage captured from a SkyFOX helicopter shows the plane sliding along Runway 17R-35L, sparking and producing brief flames from friction before coming to a safe stop. The two crew members on board exited safely with no injuries reported, and emergenc

20K views · 238 reactions | Chasing the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse with...

Brb. Going to catch the solar eclipse! ✈️ Two WB-57 jets are flying scientific instruments for research teams during the April 8 total solar #eclipse. From 50,000 feet above, two research teams will image the Sun’s corona, the outer layer of the Sun, and a third will measure the ionosphere, the upper electrically charged layer of Earth’s atmosphere. The aircraft will both take off from El Paso, Texas, and fly to the coast of Mexico picking up the path of totality through south Texas. Both aircra

A NASA WB-57 aircraft (N927NA) made a belly landing at Ellington Airfield in Houston on Tuesday following mechanical issues with the landing gears. All crew members were reported safe, according to NASA. The aircraft slid on the runway, with sparks coming from the bottom of the plane. The aircraft took off around 1619Z, made a couple of low passes over the field, made the belly landing at around 1712Z. The WB-57 is a high-altitude, long-endurance research aircraft capable of operation for extend