A Boeing cargo plane bound for Istanbul from Paris was forced to an emergency “belly landing” landing after its front landing gear malfunctioned, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
Video shows that the cargo plane, operated by FedEx, during the landing had its nose hit the tarmac with sparks and smoke visible due to the friction of the impact. (RELATED: Boeing Whistleblower Dies From Sudden Illness: REPORT)
The pilots of the aircraft had notified Istanbul Airport in advance to request permission for this emergency landing, the New York Post reported. The landing, though fiery, caused no reported injuries, and an investigation into the incident is underway, the outlet noted.
The runaway used for the emergency landing has been closed to air traffic for the time being, Independent reported. FedEx issued a statement that they were cooperating with authorities in the investigation and that it would “provide additional information as it is available,” the British news outlet noted.
A belly landing is when an airplane must conduct “an emergency landing with the gear in the “up position” typically because of an equipment malfunction, Skybrary observed. Such landings have their risks attached to them like causing structural damage to the aircraft, starting fires or explosions, and injuries, Aviationfile.com noted.
This is not the first incident involving a FedEx-managed Boeing aircraft. A FedEx Boeing 757 airplane crash landed at a Tennessee airport after its landing gear malfunctioned on Oct. 4. Boeing has recently come under federal investigation after disclosures over how previous inspections concerning its 787 Dreamliner jets may have been compromised, NBC News reported. The Federal Aviation Administration stated that they were probing ” whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records.”
The company posted major losses- a $335 million decline in revenue- in its first quarter after a slew of plane malfunctions were broadcast by the press. “Our first quarter results reflect the immediate actions we’ve taken to slow down 737 production to drive improvements in quality,” Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was quoted as saying in the earnings report.