After a private Antonov AN-2 aircraft made a crash landing at Findel on Sunday, Luxair and the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) have now released further details.
According to a Facebook post by the CGDIS, the Antonov AN-2 touched down on the Findel tarmac at around 5pm but, for reasons not yet established, swung through 180 degrees before coming to a halt. Twelve passengers were on board, none of them injured, and they were able to leave the aircraft unaided. The plane had to be cleared from the runway by Findel firefighters using a container forklift, with the operation lasting around three hours.
Lux-Airport confirmed on Sunday evening at around 8pm that the runway could be put back into service. It had been partly closed in the interim, meaning that landings were not possible while takeoffs were still allowed.
The incident had a major impact on air traffic on Sunday evening, with many flights cancelled or diverted and thousands of passengers affected.
Gilles Feith, CEO of Luxair, said a total of 44 flights and more than 3,500 passengers had been affected. Ten flights were diverted, with five going to Saarbrücken, three to Frankfurt-Hahn, one to Brussels and one to Cologne.
A further 16 flights had to be cancelled and the disruption added up to 50 hours of delays in total. The costs ran to over €200,000, covering hotel bills and rebookings. The Luxair CEO added that no EU compensation was triggered.
A historic aircraft, the Antonov AN-2 was taxiing after landing with one wing on the runway. A side wind caused the accident, according to the pilot, who has been flying the type for 15 years. Pressure on the wheels, he said, caused the left tyre to buckle and break open the plane's wing on the runway.
The pilot had passengers on board at the time of the accident, none of whom were hurt. He regularly takes passengers up in the aircraft, which was built after the Second World War.
Until the plane could be towed away on Sunday, part of the runway at Findel airport was blocked. The pilot pointed out that beyond the immediate fallout, with thousands of passengers caught up in cancellations, diversions and delays, the idea of giving private aviation its own dedicated runway has been discussed for the 30 years he has been flying. No municipality, however, wants either a runway or a fuel depot on its doorstep. At Findel, he said, the message is always that private aviation has to go elsewhere, yet no alternatives are ever put forward, even though airline and cargo pilots are themselves trained there.
