TezJet plane in Kyrgystan loses landing gear during flight from Bishkek Airport, passengers evacuated
The dramatic scenes happened just after a domestic flight took off.
Passengers have been left terrified after a plane lost its landing gear during take-off.
The TezJet flight in Kyrgyzstan was travelling from Bishkek to Osh on July 7 when the incident happened.
According to Kazakh outlet AKIpress, one of the rear landing gears collapsed during take-off and the plane tilted to one side.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The pilots were able to quickly stop the plane, but doing so caused it to roll onto its left wing and spill jet fuel out onto the runway.
It is understood there was no fire.
In footage of the horrifying incident shared on social media, passengers can be seen evacuating via the inflatable slide.
The plane’s wing appears to be broken and lying on the ground, and it looks like the tail of the plane was also ripped off.
At the time, 181 people were on board: 152 adults, 11 teenagers, and 18 children.
These figures include the two pilots and four flight attendants.
There were no major injuries; however some passengers reported cuts and bruises, according to The Mirror.
It has also been reported that the aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 produced in December, 1999.
All flights from Manas Airport were temporarily suspended and an investigation is underway into the incident, as reported by Flight Global.
“Until the necessary verification activities are completed, a decision has been made to temporarily suspend the operation of TezJet aircraft,” the state civil aviation agency said.
“This is a purely preventative measure aimed at ensuring the highest level of flight safety.”
The wild scenes at Bishkek airport come two weeks after it was revealed that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had grounded a group of Airbus planes to perform urgent inspections after cracks were detected on planes in the wings’ structural beam, which carries much of the aerodynamic load during flights.
Of the 16 to be inspected, one is operated by Qantas and 15 by Emirates.
Airlines will need to have engineers inspect the inside of the wings, which can be accessed by engineers entering the fuel tank.
A380s are the world’s biggest planes and can carry more than 850 passengers with an 80 metre wingspan and measuring more than 70 metres in length.
A Qantas spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald that there would be “no impact to Qantas flights”.
“The aircraft was already in scheduled maintenance and we will comply with any additional requirements as a result of this airworthiness directive,” they said.
Other airlines using A380s include Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, Etihad Airways, ANA and Asiana Airlines.
