A Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner’s nose gear collapsed Thursday while the plane was parked at a gate at Frankfurt Airport, injuring several crew members and ground staff ahead of what was supposed to be a departure to Los Angeles. The flight was canceled.
Lufthansa Boeing 787 Nose Gear Collapses
Video from the scene shows the front wheels sliding forward and the nose of the aircraft dropping several meters as a ground crew member nearby quickly backed away. The nose gear bay doors broke off on impact.
Lufthansa said in a statement that “several employees were injured and are currently receiving medical attention,” adding that it and relevant authorities were investigating. Boeing said it is “aware of the incident” and “supporting our customer.”
See video of the incident by @straits_times:
The aircraft is just over a year old. It was delivered to Lufthansa in January and entered service in February, logging 137 flights since then, according to Flightradar24. No passengers were on board at the time.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former U.S. federal aviation crash investigator, told the AP it is “very unusual” for a nose landing gear to collapse while an aircraft is at a standstill. He cautioned it’s too early to speculate on the cause, but said potential factors could include prior damage to the landing gear, a mechanical failure, or maintenance-related issues. Investigators will look closely at the plane’s maintenance history and system records and may also review flight data from previous landings. “They’re going to look at every square inch of that nose landing gear strut and the mechanisms that operate it,” Guzzetti said.
There’s some precedent here. In 2021, a Boeing 787-8 at London Heathrow had its nose gear retract during maintenance testing, causing the nose to drop onto the pavement. The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch found that a locking pin meant to prevent retraction had been inserted in the wrong position, allowing the gear to fold despite safeguards designed to keep it extended.
The 787 program has had a rough few years on the production side. Problems started in 2020 when small gaps were found between fuselage panels made of carbon composite material, prompting inspections that turned up issues with a pressurization bulkhead. Boeing halted 787 deliveries in May 2021 while regulators reviewed documentation on new planes, and again in June 2023 to inspect fittings on part of the tail after identifying what the company called a “nonconforming condition.” Boeing said at the time that issue wasn’t a safety risk for aircraft already flying, though it affected near-term deliveries.
The 787-9, the variant involved in Thursday’s incident, can carry up to 296 passengers depending on configuration and is used primarily on long-haul international routes. The type has been in service since 2011.
