Istanbul: Shocking visuals emerged on Wednesday at the Istanbul airport after a FedEx Airlines Boeing 767 aircraft made an emergency landing without its front landing gear, causing it to smash down onto the runway and rub its nose into the concrete. Authorities informed that there had been no casualties and an investigation into the incident had been launched.
The aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, informed the control tower in Istanbul that its landing gear had failed to open and touched down with guidance from the tower, managing to remain on the runway, a ministry statement said. Airport rescue and firefighting teams were scrambled before landing, but no one was injured. The ministry gave no reason for the failure.
Videos on social media showed the Boeing 767 belonging to FedEx Express using the back landing gear and then dipping its nose with the front portion of the fuselage. Sparks flew and smoke billowed as the front end of the plane scraped along the runway before being doused with firefighting foam. The runway where the cargo plane landed has been temporarily closed to air traffic.
Watch the video
The aircraft involved is a nearly 10-year-old Boeing 767 freighter, one of the most common cargo planes and based on the 767 passenger model dating back to the 1980s. An official from Turkey's transport ministry said its teams were conducting examinations at the scene as part of the ongoing investigation, but did not provide further details.
Boeing referred queries to FedEx, which said in a statement it was coordinating with investigation authorities and would "provide additional information as it is available". In June last year, a small 22-year-old Boeing 717 flown by Delta Airlines made a similar smooth landing without a nose gear in Charlotte, North Carolina, in an incident later blamed on a fractured component.
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. The airplane manufacturer has been embroiled in a crisis since the door-plug panel of an Alaska Airlines flight blew open mid-air in January.
Boeing's crisis
The company is under multiple investigations due to major safety failures, forcing its CEO Dave Calhoun to step down by the year-end. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has even said the passengers of the Alaska Airlines flight might be victims of a crime. This crisis has been further exacerbated by the deaths of two whistleblowers who had raised concerns over the company's production standards.
Boeing is facing separate investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Justice Department and the National Transportation Safety Board. In a recent US Senate hearing, an engineer in Boeing, testifying before members of a Senate subcommittee, said the company is taking manufacturing shortcuts in a rush to produce as many airplanes as possible that could lead to jetliners breaking apart.
Sam Salehpour said that when he raised concern about the matter, his boss asked whether he was “in or out” – part of the team, or not. “‘Are you going to just shut up?’ ... that’s how i interpreted it,” he said. The FAA was also battered during the meeting for the way it approved the 737 Max nearly a decade ago without fully understanding a key flight-control system. Two Max jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. Critics continue to accuse the agency of being too cosy with Boeing.
Now, the FAA said it has opened an investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to see whether some employees committed "misconduct" by claiming certain tests that were not performed had been completed. The FAA wants to know if Boeing completed inspections to confirm adequate bonding and electrical grounding where wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes at its factory in South Carolina.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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