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A cargo aircraft made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport on Wednesday after its front landing gear failed to deploy and managed to stay on the runway, authorities said.
The Boeing 767 belonging to FedEx Express used the back landing gear and then dipped its nose with the front portion of the fuselage, according to a video on social media.
The plane was on the last leg of its flight from Paris to Istanbul when the pilots realized the front landing gear failed to open, Anadolu Agency (AA) said.
Pilots informed the traffic control tower at Istanbul Airport and landed with guidance from the tower, the Transportation and Infrastructure Ministry said in its statement.
Airport rescue and fire fighting teams made necessary preparations on the runway before landing, the ministry also said, without giving a reason for the failure.
Video footage showed sparks flying and smoke billowing as the front end of the plane scraped along the runway before being doused with firefighting foam.
No one was injured and the crew safely evacuated the aircraft, said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.
The runway where the plane landed was closed off while the aircraft was being removed, Uraloğlu said.
“Istanbul Airport is one of the most comprehensive and qualified airports in the world. So, a disruption on any runway does not affect flights. Flights continue,” said Istanbul Governor Davut Gül.
“The situation was effectively managed before the planned fuselage landing, thanks to the swift action of ARFF (Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting) teams stationed on the runway, ensuring no casualties occurred,” the airport operator IGA said in a statement.
“Following the incident, only runway 16R was temporarily closed to air traffic. ARFF teams are currently working to relocate the aircraft to a secure area and resume flight operations on the runway. Meanwhile, all other runways, including backup ones, are operating without disruptions,” it noted.
