The Boeing 767 cargo plane landed at Istanbul airport without its front landing gear, a Transport Ministry official says.
A Boeing 767 cargo plane landed at Istanbul airport without its front landing gear, a Turkish Transport Ministry official said.
The official said there were no casualties and that authorities had launched an investigation, the Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.
A video on social media showed the FedEx Express Boeing 767 using its rear landing gear and then dipping its nose with the front of the fuselage.
The plane was on the last leg of its flight from Paris to Istanbul when the pilots realized that the front landing gear was not opening, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
The plane reported to the control tower in Istanbul that its landing gear had not opened and landed with the tower's guidance, managing to remain on the runway, according to a ministry statement.
Airport rescue and firefighting teams were mobilized before landing, but no injuries were reported.
It was unclear why the failure occurred.
The plane in question is an almost 10-year-old Boeing 767 freighter, one of the most common cargo planes and based on the 767 passenger model that dates back to the 1980s.
An official at Turkey's Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said its teams were conducting examinations at the scene as part of the ongoing investigation.
FedEx said in a statement that it was coordinating with investigating authorities and would “provide additional information as it becomes available.”
The runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but other runways at Istanbul airport continued to operate normally, airport operator IGA said.
Manufacturers are not typically involved in the operation or maintenance of planes once they enter service, but Boeing has been under intense media and regulatory scrutiny following a series of incidents involving its 737s.
