No injuries during rough landing at Kennedy Airport

With its landing gear failed, one wing generating a trail of sparks as it dragged on the tarmac, and its tense passengers praying for a safe end to a scary descent, a plane bound from Atlanta to White Plains made an emergency landing Saturday night at Kennedy Airport.

None of the plane's 60 passengers or four crew were hurt when Delta Connection Flight 4951, operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, made its landing, said airport and Federal Aviation Administration officials. Passengers were collected after exiting the plane, put on buses and driven to White Plains, they said.

"We were very fortunate people," said passenger Jamie Pfeiffer, 68. "We were fortunate to have such a capable crew and such a fine pilot."

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said the plane was diverted after the pilot reported his right-side landing gear wouldn't deploy. Coleman said the pilot was able to land on the plane's nose and left landing gear. When the right wing struck the tarmac, he said, there were sparks but no fire.

Pfeiffer, a retired psychotherapist from Bridgewater, Conn., had been in Atlanta visiting her mother and brother. The first sign of trouble, she said, came as the plane approached White Plains and passengers realized they had stopped descending. Then the pilot announced he was going to have to make an emergency landing.

"We were wondering whether we would be landing in the water," she said, "but they said we would be landing at JFK and it would be a very rough landing."

As the plane approached, it was quiet in the cabin, Pfeiffer said, and nobody panicked. Then the pilot announced, "Prepare for impact," she said, and a member of the flight crew kept repeating, "Heads down, stay down." There were plenty of people praying, she said.

"I think we all offered something to whatever spiritual guidance we believe in to keep us safe," she said.

As passengers gathered on the tarmac after leaving the plane, Pfeiffer said the pilot approached and was given a round of applause. He thanked the passengers for staying calm, she said, and apologized to them for having had to endure such an experience.

Jarek Beem, a spokesman for Atlantic Southeast Airlines, said the names of the pilot and crew - whom he credited with doing an "outstanding job" - would not be released while regulators are investigating the case.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the failed landing gear is being examined and the damage to the plane, a CRJ900 jet, is being evaluated. If the damage is bad enough, he said, the emergency landing, now merely an incident, will be upgraded to an accident, which would involve the National Transportation Safety Board.