Terrified passengers were jolted forwards in their seats when a plane's landing gear collapsed and the nose scraped along the ground.

The aircraft - part of the notorious Boeing 737 family - had taken off from Lagos, Nigeria, bound for the country's second-largest city, Kano, on Tuesday night.

But when the plane operated by Max Air landed at 10:57 pm local time, the front wheel is said to have burst. The hydraulic landing gear then collapsed, sending the cockpit plummeting to the ground.

Footage shows the aircraft with the nose touching the runway at the Kano Mallam Aminu International Airport.

Shaken passenger Aliyu Inuwa Mansir who was on flight VM1605 said that the incident happened when the plane's front tire burst into flames upon landing.

The 53 passengers and crew onboard were all safely evacuated as the emergency services rushed over to the crocked jet.

Officials said the plane, registered 5N-MBD, suffered multiple tyre bursts upon landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in May 2023.

While in July 2024, another Max Air Boeing 737 experienced a tyre burst during takeoff at Yola Airport.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has reportedly previously conducted audits on the carrier following such incidents. They identified several safety and maintenance violations.

Max Air, which is owned by billionaire Nigerian businessman Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal, has not commented on the crash.