belly-land

verb

bel·​ly-land ˈbe-lē-ˌland 

belly-landed; belly-landing; belly-lands

intransitive verb

: to land an airplane on its undersurface without use of landing gear

belly landing noun

Examples of belly-land in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air belly-landed at South Korea’s Muan International Airport without its landing gear deployed on December 29, overshot the runway and burst into flames after hitting a concrete structure, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. — Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025

Jeju Air's Boeing 737-800 burst into flames after it belly-landed at Muan International Airport in South Korea, killing all but two people on board. — Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 11 Jan. 2025

In the worst air disaster in South Korean history, 179 people were killed when a Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport. — David Hodari, NBC News, 3 Jan. 2025

The plane, a Boeing 737-800, belly-landed on the runway at Muan International Airport in southwestern South Korea after an overnight flight, apparently with flaps and landing gear retracted. — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for belly-land

• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand
• hinterland
• motherland

Kids Definition

belly-land

verb

bel·​ly-land

ˈbel-ē-ˌland

: to land an airplane without use of landing gear

belly landing noun