A brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner of Lufthansa parked at a departure gate at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) on Thursday suffered significant damage when its nose landing gear suddenly broke and collapsed.
The incident led to the immediate cancellation of flight LH450. It was a long-haul flight, which was heavily booked, and was scheduled to take off from Frankfurt to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The aircraft involved in this incident has been identified as registration number D-ABPQ. It is a very modern jet which was inducted into the airline’s service earlier this year. According to eyewitness accounts and photographs going viral on social media, it can be seen that the widebody jet was tilted forward badly, and its nose cone (the front part of the plane) was resting directly on the tarmac near the passenger boarding bridge.
Condition of the employees present in the plane
Lufthansa confirmed that the incident occurred at approximately 12:45 pm local time, while the aircraft was parked in its designated parking space.
The airline said passengers had not yet boarded the Dreamliner when the plane’s landing gear broke and fell down. Although a team of crew members and ground maintenance staff were actively working in and around the aircraft, there have been no reports of injuries so far.
Lufthansa officially canceled Thursday’s transatlantic flight and began the process of re-booking hundreds of stranded passengers to reroute them.