Boeing 787 Nose Gear Failure Strikes Again, This Time Lufthansa at Frankfurt Airport

FRANKFURT, Jun 5: A Lufthansa Boeing 787 Dreamliner experienced a nose landing gear collapse while parked at a gate at Frankfurt Airport on Thursday, leaving several ground staff members injured, the airline confirmed.

The aircraft, which was scheduled to operate a flight to Los Angeles, had not yet boarded passengers at the time of the incident. Only Lufthansa crew members and airport ground personnel were onboard when the malfunction occurred.

Lufthansa said in a statement that “several employees were injured and are currently receiving medical attention,” without disclosing the severity of the injuries.

According to the airline, the incident took place at approximately 12:45 p.m. local time. A Lufthansa spokesperson said the aircraft’s nose landing gear unexpectedly retracted while it was stationary at the gate.

Emergency and technical teams were deployed to the scene immediately, and the aircraft has been taken out of service pending inspection.

Authorities and Lufthansa engineers are now investigating the “exact circumstances” of the incident in coordination with relevant aviation safety agencies.

Further details, including the condition of the injured staff and potential technical causes, have not yet been released.

One of the more serious cases occurred on June 18, 2021, at London Heathrow Airport, when a British Airways Boeing 787-8 freighter (registration G-ZBJB) experienced a sudden nose landing gear retraction while being loaded with cargo. The incident resulted in minor injuries to the co-pilot and a ground handler, as well as significant structural damage to the aircraft’s forward fuselage.

In March 2018, a Boeing 787-8 VIP aircraft (registration N507BJ) operated by Korean Air and undergoing conversion in Moses Lake, Washington, suffered a nose-down collapse during testing. Investigators attributed the incident to a maintenance error, specifically a misplaced nose landing gear safety lock pin during hydraulic system leak checks.

Earlier, on March 4, 2016, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8 (registration ET-ARE) experienced a nose gear collapse while passengers were boarding at Addis Ababa Airport. Ground crew were conducting routine maintenance at the time when the landing gear unexpectedly retracted, causing significant damage to the aircraft’s forward fuselage, though no major injuries were reported.

The recurring nature of such incidents across different operators and locations has highlighted the importance of strict adherence to maintenance protocols and ground handling procedures in preventing potentially dangerous landing gear failures