Forgotten Pin Causes Boeing to Collapse Through Landing Gear in Frankfurt
A Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 suddenly slammed nose-first onto the tarmac at Frankfurt airport last month, injuring 23 people. An investigation by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) has revealed the cause: a single forgotten safety pin.
Two technicians were in the cockpit fixing a previous landing gear error message. Following Boeing's procedure, they moved the landing gear lever to the 'up' position to test the system. The nose wheel immediately collapsed.
The critical step they missed was installing a physical locking pin in the landing gear mechanism. This pin prevents the wheel from retracting while the aircraft is on the ground. While the rear landing gear had the pins properly mounted, the nose wheel did not. Investigators found the missing pin later in a toolbox in a compartment below the cockpit.
No passengers were on board at the time, but cabin crew and cleaning staff were present. The impact left 21 people with minor injuries and two with serious injuries. The Dreamliner's nose and engines suffered extensive damage. The aircraft was lifted using massive air cushions and towed to a hangar for repairs.
Comments
Ah, such a pin. Different pin. I wasted an hour to remove parental controls of an old Philips TV.
The poor lady next door had frequent parental control lock issues on her TV that even popped up several times after X time. She said nobody could fix it. Well, I found out, but I really needed AI. The correct option was to change the age limit to none. It was totally at the top of the age list, and it was long and did not show the option directly on the TV. Also, it's not that logical to have it there. 😅