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Southwest flight's nose gear collapses, shuts down La Guardia

NEW YORK, July 22 (UPI) -- The nose gear on a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville collapsed at New York's La Guardia airport Monday, shutting down incoming traffic.

Southwest Flight 345, a Boeing 737, came to a stop on Runway 4 without its landing gear, though the back wheels did come down, CNN quoted Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown as saying.

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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told CNN 11 of the 160 people on board experienced non-life-threatening injuries, including six passengers and five crew members. Six people were taken to hospitals.

A witness told CNN he saw a tire rolling down the runway and a shower of sparks near the jet's nose as it landed.

The airport halted all arrivals after the 5:40 p.m. EDT incident, but one runway had reopened Monday night.

The jet's inflatable slides were deployed and emergency vehicles had surrounded the scene, and the passengers had been evacuated.

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