Alitalia aircraft makes emergency landing

Alitalia aircraft makes emergency landing in Rome

Passengers evacuate an Alitalia flight that was forced to make an emergency landing at Rome's Fiuminco airport on Sunday

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Alitalia aircraft makes emergency landing after equipment failure
• None of the 151 passengers on board were injured
• Plane was flying to Rome from Madrid
• Pilots made several attempts to land the aircraft

 An Alitalia aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Rome's Fiuminco airport on Sunday night after landing gear failed to function, Italy's state-run ANSA news agency reported.

The pilots made several attempts to land the aircraft, an Airbus A320, which was flying to the Italian capital from Madrid. A foam path was used to assist with the landing.

The plane did not skid off the runway and none of the 151 passengers on board were injured.

A picture taken by Instagram user Andrea Ugolini showed the aircraft tilted to one side while passengers were evacuated using the emergency exit above the wing.

ANSA said that passengers clapped and congratulated the pilot, who had more than 15,000 hours of flying experience and had previously worked in the military.

Two investigators have been sent to the scene to determine the cause of the equipment failure.