Lufthansa revealed on Thursday, June 4th, that an incident occurred at a boarding gate at Frankfurt Airport in Germany where the front landing gear of a Boeing 787 aircraft collapsed unexpectedly, resulting in injuries to several staff members.
According to a spokesperson for the airline in a statement released via email, the incident occurred before passengers had boarded. The spokesperson added that at the time of the accident, the flight crew and ground staff were on the aircraft.
The incident was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Lufthansa further stated that “several staff members were injured in the accident and are currently receiving medical treatment.”
A Reuters photographer on site witnessed multiple emergency vehicles parked around the twin-engine wide-body aircraft, with the front section of the plane in a “nose-down” position.
Lufthansa stated that the accident occurred at 12:45 local time, and the aircraft was scheduled to operate Flight LH450 to Los Angeles.
The company added, “We are currently cooperating with the relevant authorities to investigate the exact circumstances of the accident.”
The Boeing 787 series (operated by Lufthansa in the 787-9 model) is a relatively newer aircraft type in the group’s fleet. Lufthansa is planning to gradually phase out older, less fuel-efficient aircraft models to streamline and optimize its fleet.