Nose down: Lufthansa investigating Boeing 787 landing gear collapse in Frankfurt
Several injured in ‘very unusual’ landing gear failure of parked Dreamliner jet at a terminal gate
German airline Lufthansa said it was investigating after the nose gear of a Boeing jet collapsed while the aircraft was parked at a gate at Frankfurt Airport, injuring several employees.
Only crew members and ground staff were on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner when the front tip of the plane crashed to the ground ahead of passenger boarding for a scheduled flight to Los Angeles on Thursday. The flight was later cancelled.
“Several employees were injured and are currently receiving medical attention,” Lufthansa said in a statement, adding that it and relevant authorities were investigating.
The aircraft is just over a year old and was delivered to Lufthansa in January, one of the newest additions to the airline’s widebody fleet, according to Flightradar24. Since entering service in February, the plane has operated 137 flights, the flight-tracking website said.
Boeing said it is “aware of the incident” and “supporting our customer”.
Video footage from the scene appeared to show the front wheels of the aircraft sliding forward and the plane’s nose falling several metres as a ground crew member standing nearby quickly backed away. The doors to the nose gear bay broke off upon impact.