Airbus to aid in probe of plane that landed with missing wheels

Airbus SE said it will help Chinese authorities investigate an incident in Shenzhen this week, when the crew of an A320 commercial jet requested an emergency landing after reporting trouble in the left engine and landing gear. It was later discovered that the two nose wheels were missing.

Capital Airlines flight JD5759 from Beijing, with 166 aboard, encountered severe wind shear while attempting to land in Macau on August 28, according to the operator. Suspecting damage to the landing gear, the pilots initiated emergency procedures and landed at Shenzhen’s Bao’an airport 42 minutes later.

Five passengers were hospitalized after evacuation, according to a statement by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, who are investigating the incident.

“Airbus will actively cooperate with CAAC and the airline to provide all necessary assistance and support,” a Beijing-based spokeswoman for the European plane manufacturer said yesterday.

Meanwhile, local authorities are also conducting an investigation into the incident, as the front tires and broken parts of the plane were found during a pavement inspection.

Pun Wa Kin, director of Flight Standards and Licensing of the Civil Aviation Authority, said that gathering of evidence is currently underway. “We are conducting a simple analysis while gathering evidence,” he said, as cited in TDM.

“[The pilot] did request to come back to the Macau International Airport. But they might have made some decisions when handling the issue. This is normal. This is because the company and the flight crew will decide which airport or which place is the best for landing,” the official added.

According to Pun, that decision will be one of the factors they will investigate, adding that they do not rule out factors including weather, mechanical parts and man-made factors.

Airline passengers travelling back to Macau from Shenzhen on ferries and interviewed upon arrival described the last hour of the troubled flight. One of them said that she saw fire from the left hand side of the aircraft, and that the plane bumped upon landing twice before lifting off again. Another said that passengers were only informed about what was happening after they had landed in Shenzhen.

In an interview given to Canal Macau, Captain Vicente Serafim, CEO of Macau Jet International, said, “a catastrophe almost happened in Macau.” He also said that pilots had techniques to land planes with faulty landing gear and that is why the plane landed safely in Shenzhen, commending the pilot for his handling of the situation.

The Macau University of Science and Technology had already issued a statement expressing that it was “very concerned” as several of its new students were aboard the flight. The university extended its registration period for these students.

The emergency landing of the Chinese budget carrier occurred within three days of another of its A320 aircrafts making a sudden emergency descent. This aircraft lost cabin pressure on Sunday and landed in Kunming.

An all-airbus fleet

Capital Airlines, controlled by Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co., operates an all-Airbus fleet of 78 aircraft, and offers both domestic and long-haul international services to Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. It launched the first direct service between Beijing and Lisbon in July last year, according to the company’s website.