Terrified passengers aboard a Frontier Airlines flight from Florida feared “it was the end” when one of the plane’s wheels broke off during a hard landing in a frightening moment caught on camera.
Frontier Flight 5306 was on final approach to San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the 228-passenger plane touched down at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport before quickly climbing back up on April 15.
During the first landing attempt, the Airbus A321 suffered a “mechanical problem” resulting in one of the wheels tearing off the front landing gear, Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia reported.
The view outside Frontier Airlines Flight 3506 after the hard landing in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 15, 2025. Melani González Wharton“We were landing and the landing was very bad, aggressive and at a high speed, this caused one of the tires on the front of the plane to break and catch fire,” Melani Gonzalez Wharton wrote on Facebook.
Wharton had traveled to Florida with her husband and their two sons, ages 3 and 6, to visit the theme parks in the area.
The family didn’t expect their return trip from vacation to turn into a near-death experience.
“For a few minutes I thought it was the end of our story here on earth,” Wharton wrote on Facebook, with a video of passengers deboarding the plane.
The mother of two captured the view out the window from her seat, which showed an orange glow under the plane as streaks of smoke rushed past the window.
Debris from the damaged gear got sucked into the engine, causing it to smoke, but no engine failure was reported.
The plane’s landing gear with the missing wheel after it broke off on the landing. @fl360aero/X
An orange glow appears under the Airbus after the “mechanical problem.” Melani González WhartonChildren were heard in the background crying as other passengers prayed for their safety.
The plane circled the airport four times before making a second attempt at landing on a different runway, according to the flight radar site FlightAware.
The aircraft came as close as 500 feet to the runway but flew by and did another circle around the area before landing at 10:54 p.m.
Tuesday’s flight was over an hour longer than the usual time it takes for the trip from Orlando to Puerto Rico, according to flight data.
Passengers in the plane as the pilots circle around Luis Munoz Marin International Airport. Melani González Wharton
Flight radar captured the plane’s route between the initial landing attempt and the final landing. Flightradar24Investigators applauded the work of the flight crew, claiming their actions saved the plane from a worse ending.
A young co-pilot was in control at the time before the cool-headed captain took over and stabilized the plane, flight investigator Luis Irizarry said, according to Puerto Rico’s WAPA.
Photos of the aftermath captured the plane’s front landing gear missing an entire wheel.
First responders escort passengers off the plane after it landed in Puerto Rico. Melani González Wharton
The Frontier Airlines flight sits on the tarmac as officials and passengers look on. Melani González WhartonNo injuries have been reported.
The Post has reached out to Frontier Airlines.
