Passengers and the pilot just manage to escape before the Cessna Citation CJ3 erupts into flames after a hard landing.

On the morning of Sept. 20, a pilot and nine passengers on board a Cessna Citation CJ3 successfully exited the aircraft after landing with its gear up at Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) in Pasco, Washington. After everyone had evacuated the jet, it caught fire.

The airplane, registered to Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute Inc. of Chehalis, Washington, landed on its bottom and skidded down the principal runway, as reported by the Tri-City Herald newspaper. After everyone had been evacuated, a spark created by the aircraft led the jet to explode into flames.

According to Ben Shearer, public information officer with the Pasco Fire Department, this is the first time this sort of event has occurred at the airport in approximately 33 years.

On Christmas Eve 1989, a jet crashed just short of the runway, killing everyone on board.

According to Shearer, the fire brigade had no warning that the jet was in difficulty.

“A firefighter heard a bang and glanced out the window to see the plane flying by,” Shearer explained.

The FAA and NTSB are looking into it. At this moment, the cause of the gear failure is unknown.