Oakland airport reopens main runway after weekend emergency landing

Oakland airport reopens main runway after weekend emergency landing Oakland International Airport's main runway reopened Monday, one day after the front landing gear of a Southwest Airlines jetliner collapsed and the plane skidded along the runway during an emergency landing over the weekend.
   The Sunday afternoon emergency landing closed the airport's 10,000-foot-long runway, which lead to the diversion of all takeoffs and landings to the 6,200-foot-long North Field runway, which is normally uses for private, charter and corporate aircraft.
   The crew of Southwest Flight 3050 identified a problem with the plane's landing gear shortly after takeoff Sunday afternoon from Sacramento. It was decided to divert the plane to Oakland and fly by the tower to allow ground controllers to visibly assess the position of the nose landing gear. The nose gear collapsed when the plane eventually touched down about 3:30 p.m.
   The 114 passengers and five crewmembers on board the Boeing 737 were not injured during the landing or subsequent emergency slide evacuation.
   The plane was removed from the runway by Sunday night and the runway was declared open just before 6 a.m. Monday.