On 29th March, Tuesday, a LATAM Airlines Airbus A320-200 made an emergency landing at Medellin Jose Maria Cordova International Airport, with the nose gear locked 90 degrees off-centre.
The Airbus A320-200, with the registration CC-BAS, was climbing out of Medellin’s runway 01 as flight LA4292 to Cartagena, Colombia when the crew noticed an issue with the nose landing gear.
According to Avherald, the crew stopped the climb at 13,000 feet and decided to return due to a nose gear steering fault indication. In the following video shared on the internet, sparks and smoke can be seen coming from the nose gear.
In a press release, the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that a fault was detected in one of the gear tires forward after takeoff. Therefore, the crew decided to fly over the airport area Rionegro to consume part of the fuel and land safely. The A320 entered a hold and landed back on runway 01 about 45 minutes after departure from the same runway.
“The landing was carried out in a controlled manner in safe conditions for aircraft occupants and ground personnel. The emergency was attended by the aeronautical fire brigade and the personnel of the Services of Emergency and Maintenance.”
Colombian Civil Aviation Authority
Flight operations were temporarily suspended while evacuation maneuvers were being carried out. No one was injured among those 147 passengers and crew members on board, and they disembarked onto the runway via stairs.
The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority (AeroCivil) has opened an investigation into the incident.
Similar Incident
This incident was similar to JetBlue Flight 292 in September 2005.
On 6 March 2021, Batik Air Flight 6803, operating an A320 from Jambi to Jakarta, suffered an accident similar to Flight 292 when the gear turned sideways. The plane returned to its base and all passengers and crew survived.
Cover Image: Via Twitter
