Shock at Frankfurt Airport: Several employees of Lufthansa and partner companies were injured when the nose landing gear of a Dreamliner suddenly collapsed.
Luckily there were no passengers on board yet.
The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon around 12:45 p.m. at boarding position A15 in front of Terminal 1. The plane with flight number LH450 was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles. It is the Type 787-9, known as the Dreamliner – a twin-engine long-haul aircraft for 200 to 440 passengers.
According to dpa information, the flight was scheduled to take off at 1:50 p.m. Boarding for long-haul flights usually takes around 30 minutes. This means that the first passengers would have already been on board at around 1:15 p.m.
13 crew members and partner companies on board
What had happened? “The nose gear of the aircraft unexpectedly folded in a parking position,” said a company spokesman when asked about the incident. Why this happened remains to be clarified.
According to the spokesman, 13 Lufthansa crew members were on board at the time of the incident. There are also an unknown number of other employees. The teams were preparing the aircraft before the passengers boarded.
Two Lufthansa employees in the hospital
“Two cabin crew employees from Lufthansa and other employees from service companies were taken to a hospital for medical care,” it said in the evening. He did not provide any information about the severity of the injuries or the number of other injured people.
Photos show that the passenger boarding bridge is already attached to the plane. Emergency services vehicles are parked next to the damaged machine. It can also be seen that the machine is badly damaged. The bow is tilted forward, the stern protrudes upwards.
A video on X, which Lufthansa believes to be authentic, shows the plane from the front as the nose sags forward. Pieces break off and fly sideways. A ground employee is standing right next to it.
The cause of the incident is currently under investigation. A crisis team was set up. Technicians and experts are on site. After approval from the authorities, the Dreamliner will be taken to a technical hall during the evening. Further investigations will take place there before the aircraft is repaired.
Dreamliner new in the fleet
Lufthansa received its first Boeing 787-9 in 2022. According to its own information, the company currently has 17 Dreamliners in its fleet. By the end of 2027 there should be 29. In its marketing, Lufthansa promised “a unique travel experience”.
According to the airport operator Fraport, the incident has no major impact on air traffic.
/sat/DP/he
FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX)
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