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Frontier Airlines passenger describes terrifying landing after plane’s wheel breaks off

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A Frontier Airlines passenger recounted how one of the plane’s wheels broke off during a terrifying landing in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

Melani Gonzalez Wharton wrote on Facebook that her family’s flight from Florida to Puerto Rico became a “horrific experience” as the plane tried to land at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.

“For a few minutes I thought it was the end of our story here on earth,” Wharton wrote on Facebook.

Wharton described watching the ordeal unfold through her window on the flight.

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No injuries were immediately reported after the hard landing at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

“We were landing and the landing was very bad, aggressive and at a high speed, this caused one of the tires on the front of the plane to break and catch fire,” she wrote.

Frontier Flight 5306 was coming in for a landing with 228 passengers when the Airbus A321 experienced a “mechanical problem” that resulted in one of the wheels on its landing gear to break off, Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia reported.

The incident happened as the plane was landing at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico. (Erika P. Rodriguez/ Bloomberg, File)

Flight investigator Luis Irizarry told Puerto Rico’s WAPA-TV that it appeared the flight’s co-pilot, who is young, was in command at the time of the incident before the quick-thinking captain took over to safely land.

Wharton described one of the plane’s wheels catching fire and breaking off as the aircraft tried to land. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, File)

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Wharton wrote on Facebook that “the reality is that we were flying in the hands of inexperts,” referring to the young co-pilot.

No injuries were immediately reported.

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Frontier Airlines told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that Flight 3506 from Orlando to San Juan “experienced a hard landing upon arrival.”

“The aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries to the passengers or crew,” the statement said. “The incident is under investigation.”

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