NASA WB-57 Research Jet Makes Gear-Up Landing at Ellington Airport After Mechanical Failure

A high-altitude research aircraft operated by NASA, a WB-57 model, executed an emergency landing by touching down on its fuselage at Ellington Airport, located southeast of Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The incident occurred when the landing gear system failed to deploy as the aircraft approached the runway.

Video footage captured the aircraft sliding along Runway 17R–35L, generating bright yellow sparks followed by a dense plume of white smoke resulting from the fuselage friction against the concrete surface. The event took place at approximately 11:30 a.m. local time. NASA subsequently confirmed that all crew members were reported safe and sustained no injuries.

Emergency response crews at Ellington Airport were immediately on site to secure the situation and evacuate the pilot from the cockpit after the aircraft came to a complete stop. NASA formally acknowledged the incident via its X platform, citing a "mechanical anomaly" that necessitates a thorough investigation, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also scheduled to conduct.

The aircraft involved, bearing registration N927NA, is a critical asset, and the runway was temporarily closed for the recovery and removal of the damaged plane. The NASA WB-57 Canberra is a distinctive platform for atmospheric and scientific research, with an operational history extending from the 1970s, though its fundamental design originates from the English Electric Canberra.

This twin-engine jet possesses exceptional flight capabilities, capable of reaching operational altitudes exceeding 63,000 feet, or approximately 19,200 meters, with a flight endurance of around 6.5 hours. Current NASA information indicates that N927NA was the sole active WB-57 unit in their fleet at the time of the incident, as two other similar aircraft were grounded for scheduled major inspections. One of those grounded aircraft was slated for inspection in February 2026, underscoring the rarity and importance of this fleet for NASA's high-altitude research programs based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The WB-57F variant has served as a backbone for scientific missions since the early 1960s, supporting diverse research from aerial mapping to cosmic dust collection. Aircraft N927NA holds the distinction of being the plane that returned to service after the longest storage period at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, following a two-year regeneration process. The operational future of this rare aircraft now depends entirely on the findings of the in-depth investigation into the root cause of the mechanical failure.