Dash 8 in Allentown Incident
No injuries were reported to the 35 passengers aboard a US Airways Express de Havilland Dash 8 flight that declared an emergency when it could not lower its nose gear. Operated by Piedmont Airlines, the incident occurred at Allentown at about 8:20 a.m. last week.
After the crew received an indicator that the nose gear failed to deploy, it did a fly over to confirm the situation before landing on the runway prepared with foam about an hour later, closing the airport for some 35 minutes. However, the airport experience delays of up to two hours throughout the day as the plane blocked the use of one of its four runways. It skidded down the runway but there was no smoke or fire. Passengers were ferried to the terminal by bus. The incident is being investigated by the US Airways, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

NTSB Releases Factual Report on Mesa Runway Incursion
The National Transportation Safety Board released its factual report into the September 19 incident in which a Mesa CRJ-700 narrowly missed a Cessna that failed to turn off on the taxiway assigned and was still on the runway as Mesa, cleared for takeoff, was rolling. The aircraft came within 10 feet as the Mesa pilot skidding around the Cessna.
The runway incursion occurred at 7:38 p.m. EDT, at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mesa Air Shuttle flight 7138, a Canadair CRJ-700 (N506MJ) aborted takeoff at about 120 knots (138 mph), skidding around a Cessna R172K (N736GV) that had just landed and was still taxiing on the runway. The crew of the Mesa Air regional jet estimated the distance between the two aircraft as 10 feet when they passed.
The Mesa Air flight carried 56 passengers and a crew of four; the Cessna carried a pilot and two passengers. There was no damage to either aircraft and no reported injuries. The incident occurred in night meteorological conditions.
A timeline of the incident events is as follows:
7:29:28 - Cessna contacts Allentown tower while about 8 miles east of the airport.
7:33:30 - Cessna, in landing pattern for runway, is cleared to land on runway 6.
7:34:50 - Mesa Air regional jet contacts tower and reports ready for takeoff and holding short of runway 6. Controller instructs pilot to hold short of runway 6 for landing traffic.
7:36:15 - Cessna crosses threshold of runway 6 and lands.
7:36:27 - Mesa Air instructed by tower controller to taxi into position on runway 6 and hold.
7:36:36 - Tower controller asks pilot of Cessna where he intends to park. Following pilot response, controller provides taxi directions, instructing pilot to exit runway at taxiway A4.
7:37:11 - Mesa Air cleared for takeoff.
7:37:18 to 7:37:32 - Controller turns attention to an inbound aircraft and issues landing instructions.
7:37:34 - Cessna pilot informs tower controller that he had missed the A4 taxiway and asks for permission to exit at taxiway B.
7:37:42 - Controller replies, "...no delay, turn immediately," which Cessna pilot acknowledges.
7:38:16 - Mesa Air radios tower controller: "We got it, tower - we're going to need to go back to the gate."
Following the incident, both aircraft taxied to parking. The Mesa Air crew elected to cancel the flight and have the aircraft inspected. The Cessna taxied to general aviation parking and concluded the flight.
Safety Board investigators have interviewed the pilots involved in the incident, and the air traffic controllers on duty at the time of the incident as well as the FAA tower managers.