An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Bermuda yesterday after one of its landing gears malfunctioned.

Bermuda International Airport general manager James Howes said flight 1443 to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York took off at 10 a.m. when its right landing gear malfunctioned.

?The captain circled the Island for a half hour,? Mr. Howes said. ?But after all attempts were unsuccessful he declared an emergency.?

Bermuda Fire Service Lieutenant Dana Lovell said it was a scramble to get eight fire engines to the Airport from the Hamilton and Clearwater Fire Stations, the St. George?s Fire Brigade and the Airport Fire Station.

An ambulance was also sent from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, he said. The Boeing 757 landed safely at 10.45 a.m. with 147 passengers and crew on board. At 12.42 p.m. the airplane was still on the ground and its captain could be seen looking up into the landing gear. American Airlines representatives said the passengers were upstairs in the departure lounge and were unavailable for comment.

The landing gear will either be repaired in Bermuda, or the plane would take off with no passengers because it needs to fly at a lower altitude, the American Airlines said.