LYON—A missing pin during a preflight repair caused the nose landing gear of a Lufthansa-operated Boeing 787-9 to collapse at Frankfurt Airport on June 4, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) said in an interim report released July 10.
The BFU has yet to publish a full analysis, including the organizational failures that led to the omission. The final report, which International Civil Aviation Organization standards require to be issued within one year after the event, may bring lessons for maintenance service providers. The accident resembles a similar mishap that occurred on a British Airways 787-8 at London Heathrow Airport in June 2021.
In addition to substantial damage to the aircraft’s landing gear, nose section and engine nacelles, 21 people were slightly injured, and two suffered severe wounds. In the total, 22 individuals were part of the 28-flight crew, maintenance technicians and ground handling service personnel on board. In addition, one injured was in a high loader, which was also damaged.
At the Gate 15 parking position at the terminal, maintenance technicians were sitting in the pilot seats, conducting a test to resolve an open complaint about the control system of the main landing gear doors, the report says. The test involved setting the landing gear lever to the “up” position. When the technicians did, the nose landing gear collapsed and the front fuselage hit the concrete.
Prior to activating the landing gear lever, the procedure requires the installation of landing gear downlock pins. On the nose landing gear, the pin was not inserted into the designated hole, and it was found in its storage box instead, investigators say. Four other landing gear downlock pins were properly installed in the two main landing gears, they add.
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