Fighter Plane Makes Amazing 'Belly Landing' Without Landing Gear

There's Capt. Sully Sullenberger, and then there's the pilot you're about to see.

Utah pilot Kay Eckardt was flying his 1957 T-33 Hellcat jet last Friday at at the St. George Airport in St. George, UT when his landing gear malfunctioned. When that happened, he did the only thing he could: pull off a belly landing. And pull it off he did.

Video captured the amazing event:

Thespectrum.com has more:

The runway was foamed prior to the landing and fire and ambulance crews were called to the scene. A Life Flight helicopter was placed on standby but was not needed.

Marc Mortensen, assistant to the St. George city manager, said the plane made four passes to burn off fuel before coming in for a belly landing. Sparks flew as the aircraft skidded about 2,000 feet before coming to a stop.

"It was a picture-perfect landing," Mortensen said.

Despite the circumstances, the pilot and co-pilot emerged unscathed.

"They couldn't have done a better job," said airport manager Rich Stehmeier, praising the efforts of the pilot and emergency personnel. "That's the way it's supposed to work."

Although the plane is painted to look like a Navy Blue Angel aircraft, the Navy said it is not an official part of their fleet.