A Boeing plane had to make an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport after the front landing gear failed to deploy, Turkish authorities confirmed Wednesday, in a new incident that once again calls into question the safety and reliability of Boeing.
The aircraft, a Boeing 767 cargo plane belonging to the FedEx Express airline, managed to stay on the runway during the manoeuvre by first touching down with the wheels of the rear landing gear, and then making the front nose to touch the runway, causing an intense trail of sparks but no fire, according to videos posted on social media.
Turkish media reported that the plane was on the last leg of a route between Paris and Istanbul when the pilots noticed that the front landing gear failed to deploy. After informing the control tower at Istanbul Airport, the tower assisted the pilots with the landing manoeuvre, the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said in a statement, without giving further details on the cause of the aircraft’s technical failure.
There were no injuries during the incident and the crew was evacuated to safety, but the airport runway had to remain temporarily closed while the wreckage of the plane was removed. “Istanbul Airport is one of the most complete and prepared airports in the world, so a disruption on a runway does not affect flights. Flights are continuing,” Istanbul governor Davut Gül told reporters.
The IGA consortium that operates Istanbul Airport confirmed that runway 16R had to be temporarily closed, adding that the rapid intervention of the airport’s emergency services managed to avert a disaster, preventing the aircraft from catching fire and ensuring no casualties. “All other runways, including backup runways, are operating without interruption,” he said. Boeing has not commented on this latest accident involving a one of their aircraft, but the US multinational is facing increasing pressure from airlines, regulators and investors for prioritising shareholder profits over passenger safety, especially after the depressurisation of a 737 Max in mid-flight last January.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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