Alitalia plane makes emergency landing in Rome; no injuries

ROME, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- An Alitalia flight carrying 151 passengers made an emergency landing at Rome's Fiumicino airport after part of the landing gear failed to open, passengers said.

No injuries were reported.

The plane circled the airport two or three times Sunday, alerting the control tower that there was a problem with the gear, ANSA reported Monday.

The aircraft touched down on just the rear and left landing wheels, leaning on its right wing and stopping on the outer edge of a runway, the report said.

Passengers were evacuated using emergency slides, ANSA said.

"The pilot and crew were good, very good. But we passengers were, too, even though there was a lot of tension," said one passenger, whose name wasn't reported.

"We expected worse. We became aware that something was wrong when the airplane continued to circle," another said.

Officials have launched an investigation into the cause of the mechanical problem.

The scheduled departure and arrival cities for the flight weren't reported.