FedEx cargo plane nose-lands at Istanbul Airport: Landing gear fails
A FedEx cargo plane made an emergency landing on its nose Wednesday at Istanbul Airport after its landing gear malfunctioned.
Operating the Paris-Istanbul route, the Boeing 767 requested an emergency landing when its nose gear failed to deploy.
The airport prepared for the landing, and rescue and firefighting teams were promptly dispatched to the runway. The crew evacuated the aircraft safely, and no injuries were reported.
The plane landed on Runway 16R, which is now closed to other flights. Efforts to remove the aircraft from the runway are ongoing, and an investigation into the incident is underway.
"Istanbul Airport is among the most sophisticated in the world. Thus, a single runway disruption does not impact our flight operations, which continue uninterrupted," stated Istanbul Governor Davut Gul.
According to the Istanbul Airport operator IGA, the FedEx flight FX6238 from Paris Charles de Gaulle successfully landed under air traffic control's guidance, despite the front gear not deploying due to a technical issue.
"Thanks to the immediate response of our Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) teams, we managed the situation effectively before the aircraft performed a planned fuselage landing, ensuring no casualties," IGA reported.
Following the incident, only Runway 16R has been temporarily shut down. ARFF teams are working to move the aircraft to a safe location and reopen the runway for normal operations. Meanwhile, all other runways, including backup ones, continue to function smoothly, confirmed IGA.