LOS ANGELES, Sept 22: A JetBlue airliner with 146 people aboard made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday, dragging its crippled nose gear down the runway in a hail of sparks and smoke before coming safely to rest.

There were no immediate reports of injuries during the drama, which began when pilots realized the plane’s front wheels did not retract properly on takeoff and ended after the the Airbus A320 jet circled the southern California coast for three hours to burn off fuel.

The entire incident played out on live television, with a number of U.S. networks carrying pictures of the airborne Flight 292 with its nose gear turned sideways.

PASSENGERS WATCHED TV: The travelers later recounted fraught hours they spent watching their own predicament unfold on television screens built into the back of each seat, a feature offered through DirecTV on JetBlue flights.