Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without nose gear; Investigations initiated

An investigation is underway after a FedEx Airlines Boeing 767 cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport without front landing gear because the aircraft’s nose gear failed to extend.

The jet was using its rear landing gear as it slid onto the runway on Wednesday, and video of the incident showed flying sparks and smoke as the plane’s nose and front fuselage hit the ground where the front landing wheels should have been. According to the Turkish Ministry of Transport, the plane managed to stay on the runway and there were no injuries.

The ministry said the cargo jet, flying from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, alerted Istanbul airport’s control tower that its landing gear was not opening and was able to land under the tower’s guidance, according to Reuters reports.

The ministry also said its teams were conducting on-site investigations, while the US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) announced it would send its own investigators to Istanbul.

“The NTSB is sending a U.S. accredited representative and three other investigators to Istanbul, Turkey, to investigate the landing of a Boeing 767-300 from FedEx Flight 623 with the nose gear retracted,” said a post from the NTSB newsroom account on X late Wednesday evening.

“The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye – Road Safety Investigation Center will lead the investigation. In accordance with ICAO Annex 13, all information about the investigation will be made public by the Turkish authorities.”

CNBC has reached out to Boeing for comment.

Boeing is in the midst of its latest safety and public relations crisis after a door plug popped out of one of its 737 Max 9 planes in mid-air in early January.

The company had already spent years improving its image following the 2018-2019 safety crisis in which two of its new 737 Max jets crashed within six months, killing 346 people.

The 737 Max was grounded worldwide for nearly two years afterward, and subsequent investigations found design problems in the aircraft, inadequate training of pilots for the new models, and concealment of information from safety authorities, leading to billions of dollars in fines for Boeing and a management shakeup .

The American aircraft giant’s recently appointed new management team is now tasked with regaining the public’s trust and says it will “continue to support the US NTSB and FAA investigations into the January 5 accident”.