LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Now the story of an emergency landing. This is one of the most amazing landings you will ever see.</s>STOUFFER (voice-over): You are looking at a U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy, the biggest plane an American pilot will ever fly. But this plane is in big trouble: The front landing gear wouldn't come down. Air Force officials diverted the plane to Edwards Air Force Base in California. That's where the space shuttle sometimes lands. Once the C-5 hit the ground, the real fight for balance began. Amazingly, the pilot kept the enormous plane on just its back wheels for more than a minute, before bringing down the nose. Now we're talking about a plane that is as tall as a six-story building and as long as a football field. It has a wingspan equal to more than two 737 passenger jets. Large plumes of smoke were seen as the nose scraped along the ground, but there was no fire. All 17 people on board were safe. The U.S. military uses C-5s to carry heavy combat equipment, such as armored personnel carriers and tanks. One Air Force official called this landing picture perfect.</s>JASON CARROLL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The pilot definitely deserves kudos for that one.</s>STOUFFER: Definitely. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Air Force Plane Brought Down Safely Despite Locked Landing Gear