ISTANBUL – A FedEx Airlines Boeing 767 cargo plane landed at Istanbul airport with its front landing gear removed, Turkish Transport Ministry officials said, adding that there were no casualties and authorities had launched an investigation. .
The ministry said in a statement that the plane, which was flying from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, contacted the control tower in Istanbul after its landing gear failed to open, and was guided by the tower to land and managed to stay on the runway. .
Airport rescue and fire services were called to the scene before the plane landed, but no one was injured. The ministry did not give a reason for the failure.
The aircraft involved is one of the most common freighters, a nearly 10-year-old Boeing 767 freighter based on the 767 airliner model dating back to the 1980s.
Turkish Transport Ministry officials said an investigative team was carrying out inspections at the scene as part of an ongoing investigation, but gave no further details.
Boeing referred inquiries to FedEx, which said in a statement that it was coordinating with law enforcement authorities and “will provide additional information as it becomes available.”
Video footage seen by Reuters showed the front of the plane spewing sparks as it scraped along the runway, before coming to a halt in a cloud of smoke and being doused with fire extinguishing foam. There appears to be no fire.
According to the SKYbrary aviation database, the video shows the pilot holding the plane’s nose on the runway for several seconds after the main wheels touch the ground, and the pilot is training to retract the nose gear and land. It appears that an emergency drill was being conducted.
Last June, a 22-year-old small Boeing 717 operated by Delta Air Lines similarly landed smoothly without a nose gear in Charlotte, North Carolina, in an accident that was later blamed on a broken part.
Airport operator IGA said the runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but other runways at Istanbul Airport remained operating normally.
Manufacturers typically don’t get involved in the operation or maintenance of jets after they enter service, but Boeing has come under intense media and regulatory scrutiny following a series of accidents involving its smaller 737 jets.
