On Tuesday morning, a NASA pilot calmly brought a WB-57 down at Ellington Airport in Houston after the landing gear refused to deploy. No wheels, no brakes, and yet the jet slid to a flawless stop with the entire crew unharmed. This is about as smooth as a nightmare scenario gets.

The WB-57 is no ordinary aircraft. It was the first jet to cross the Atlantic nonstop back in 1951. It later flew bombing missions in Vietnam before NASA adopted the three remaining ones. Today, these high-altitude beasts soar up to 62,000 feet, collecting near-space samples and watching rocket launches.

[Via Neatorama]