What happened
During a flight returning to the United States, a four-engine aircraft carrying 52 passengers and eight crew members experienced a significant mechanical failure. The passengers on board were journalists traveling to cover President Ronald Reagan's official visit to Brazil. Shortly after departing, while the aircraft was in its initial climb phase, the left main landing gear made contact with an ILS antenna.
Following the impact, the captain notified Air Traffic Control of the emergency, and the flight was authorized to return to the airport. During the subsequent approach, it was determined that both main landing gears were stuck inside the wheel well, leaving only the nose gear in a down and locked position. Consequently, the aircraft performed a belly landing, sliding several dozen meters along the runway before coming to a stop.
Findings
All 60 occupants managed to evacuate the plane without any injuries. While there were no casualties, the impact resulted in the aircraft being declared a total loss due to damage sustained during the landing.