A FedEx Airlines Boeing 767 cargo plane on Wednesday landed at Istanbul Airport without deploying its front landing gear, but managed to stay on the runway and avoided casualties, the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said.
The aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, informed the control tower at Istanbul Airport that its landing gear had failed to open, and landed with guidance from the tower, the ministry said in its statement.
Airport rescue and firefighting teams were scrambled before the landing, but no one was injured. The ministry gave no reason for the failure.
Photo: Reuters
The aircraft involved is a nearly 10-year-old Boeing 767 freighter, one of the most common cargo planes.
FedEx in a statement said it was coordinating with investigation authorities and would “provide additional information as it is available.”
Video footage obtained by Reuters showed sparks flying and some smoke as the front of the plane scraped along the runway before coming to a halt and being doused with firefighting foam.
The runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but other runways at the airport were still operating normally, the airport operator Istanbul Grand Airport said.
Manufacturers are not typically involved in the operation or maintenance of jets once they enter service, but Boeing has been under intense media and regulatory scrutiny following a series of incidents on its smaller 737.
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