German passenger plane collapsed, many people were injured

The incident occurred today when the Boeing 787 aircraft of German airline Lufthansa was in the parking lot, preparing for a flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles, USA.

Video extracted from a security camera shows the Boeing 787’s front landing gear collapsing and moving forward, causing the plane to nose down and hit the concrete surface in the parking lot. Both aircraft engines also impacted the ground. Two technical staff standing near the 787 appeared to be uninjured.

“At the time of the incident, the flight crew and ground staff were on the plane, the passengers had not yet boarded the plane. Some people were injured and were treated,” a Lufthansa spokesman said.

In addition to the damage caused by the impact on the parking lot, the plane’s fuselage also seemed to collide with a specialized forklift parked next to it. Lufthansa has established a crisis management team, but has not announced losses from the incident.

This is considered a particularly serious damage because the Boeing 787 was just delivered to the airline in January.

Lufthansa is lacking long-haul aircraft, as well as having to gradually eliminate ineffective aircraft models and simplify its fleet. However, the German airline has had to reorganize its long-haul fleet many times due to delays in deliveries from manufacturers.

Nguyen Tien (Theo AFP, Airliners)