Monday, September 14, 2009

Video: Gear-up landing at Stuttgart by Contact Air Fokker 100

by B. N. Sullivan

This morning a Fokker 100 aircraft operated by Contact Air made a gear-up landing on Runway 07 at Stuttgart Airport, Germany. The aircraft (registration D-AFKE), operating as Flight 288 from Berlin-Tegel to Stuttgart, had five crew members and 73 passengers on board, all of whom evacuated on the runway using emergency slides. One minor injury was reported.

News reports about the incident say that the crew were unable to lower the main landing gear during approach to Stuttgart. They orbited the airport for more than an hour while trying to correct the problem, but were unsuccessful in doing so. The crew declared an emergency and landed the aircraft on its belly on a foam-covered runway.

Following the emergency, Runway 07 at Stuttgart had to be closed for about eight hours, during which time en route aircraft were diverted to other airports, and many departures from Stuttgart were canceled.




If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.