Cargolux pilots did not realise the landing gear had come loose

Although there were no injuries at the time, the airport witnessed a series of cancellations that Sunday evening.

© Raymond Michaux

The State Administration for Technical Investigations (AET) published an interim report this week, explaining that the aircraft had lost part of its landing gear while landing.

According to the report, the pilots weren't aware of the development until they were informed by the tower. Nonetheless, they reacted immediately and brought the aircraft to a halt.

The report goes on to explain that the Boeing 747-400 F was supposed to fly from Luxembourg to Chicago, but that never materialised once the cockpit crew realised that the landing gear would not retract. The pilots then did a few laps over an area in Belgium to get rid of 40 tonnes of fuel. This was around 4.51 pm, and the aircraft landed at Findel at 5 pm.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident. The runway was damaged slightly and had to be repaired before it was ready for use again on the same day.

The interim report also notes that a similar incident occurred at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on 14 September 2005, also involving a Boeing 747-400F.

The investigation into the incident at Findel are still ongoing.