On the 14th of May, a Cargolux Boeing 747-400F sustained severe damages during an emergency landing on runway 06 of Luxembourg International Airport.
The 24-year-old aircraft with registration LX-OCV with the name “City of Niederanven” was performing flight CV6857 from Luxembourg to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, USA. Shortly after take-off the aircraft encountered technical issues related to the retracting of the landing gear.
As a result, the crew decided to declare an emergency. They dumped fuel for approximately 40 minutes at an altitude of 10 000 feet before returning to the airport.
Seconds after touchdown on runway 06, the right body landing gear broke off and separated from the aircraft. The B747-400F had to be unloaded on the runway. For 7 hours, Luxembourg Airport was closed to all traffic due to runway inspections and repairs. This lead to delays, cancelations and diversions.
Cargolux issued a media release confirming that no one on board or on the ground suffered any injuries. Cargolux also stated that the authorities have been informed about the incident.
Cargolux would like to confirm that one of its aircraft, B747-400F bearing registration mark LX-OCV, suffered a significant landing incident at Luxembourg airport on Sunday evening at 18:52.
The aircraft was unable to retract its landing gear on take-off from Luxembourg. As a result, it was forced to safely dump fuel in order to return to land at the airport. During landing, the right body landing gear detached from the aircraft. The aircraft however came to a controlled stop and was attended by the emergency services.
No persons on board nor on the ground suffered any injuries. The relevant authorities have been informed of the incident. The aircraft remains on the runway and recovery efforts are underway.
Cargolux statment
A Boeing 747-400 has four main landing gears: two steerable body gears (inner) and two wing gears, all with 4 wheels per strut. The next photo shows the affected right body landing gear.
On the 15th of April, a Cargolux Boeing 747 suffered a hard landing at Luxembourg Airport as the aircraft bounced on landing and hit an engine before initiating a go-around.
The Cargolux Boeing 747-400 freighter, with registration LX-ECV, was performing flight CV7545 from Dubai Al Maktoum to Luxembourg. However, while landing on Luxembourg’s runway 06, the cargo plane hit the runway hard, before bouncing and eventually performing a go-around.
As the left wing dropped, the left engine (CF6) touched the runway surface before the crew initiated a go-around. After this, the aircraft climbed to 4000 feet, and the crew positioned it for another approach. Flight CV7545 landed safely about 15 minutes after the go-around.
Cargolux was founded in March 1970 and currently has a fleet of 28 aircraft, 15 B747-400F and 14 B747-8F
Cover Photo by @jacdecnew