FedEx Airlines, Boeing-made plane forced to land in Istanbul without front wheels

A FedEx Airlines cargo plane was forced to land in Turkey without the use of its front landing gear on Wednesday morning, May 8, the Turkish transport ministry said.

Fedex Express Flight 6268, a Boeing 767, was flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Istanbul Airport when it informed the Turkish traffic control tower that its landing gear failed to open. Airport rescue and fire teams prepared the runway and the tower instructed the plane’s crew to proceed with landing.

Video of the landing, obtained from Reuters, showed sparks and smoke coming from the front of the plane as it scraped along the runway before coming to a stop. The plane was subsequently doused with firefighting foam.

No one was injured, the ministry said.

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The landing video shows the front wheels were initially deployed but appeared to fail to lock into place. They were not used during the landing as the body of the plane made contact with the runway. The aircraft managed to remain on the runway during the landing.

The runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but traffic on other runways continued without any interruption, said airport operator IGA, Reuters reported.

Authorities are investigating the incident, a Turkish Transport Ministry official said. It gave no reason for the failure.

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The Boeing 767 is a nearly 10-year-old freighter. It is one of the most common cargo planes and uses a model dating back to the 1980s.

FedEX said in a statement to Reuters that it was coordinating with the investigation and would “provide additional information as it is available.”

Boeing told Reuters it would defer statements to FedEx. Manufacturers are not typically involved in the operation or maintenance of aircraft after they enter service.

FOX Business reached out to Boeing but did not immediately receive a response.

Boeing has remained under intense media scrutiny following a series of incidents with their aircraft in recent months.

Reuters contributed to this report.