A FedEx pilot was forced to land a Boeing 767 cargo plane at Istanbul Airport (IST) in Turkey without the aircraft’s nose gear in position.
The FedEx Boeing 767-3S2F was coming into land from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) on May 8, 2024, shortly before 07:50 after a three-hour flight when emergency services were pictured at the airport waiting for the plane.
In a video shared on social media, the FedEx pilot draws on all his skills and expertise to land the plane using only the main landing gear towards the rear of the plane.
İstanbul Havalimanı, burnu üzerine iniş yapan FEDEX'e ait Boeing 767 uçağına anında yangın müdahalesi yaparak yangını önledi pic.twitter.com/HtA5pBdea9
— Avionot (@avionot) May 8, 2024
After pulling off the incredible landing the front of the plane eventually lowers onto the runway causing clouds of smoke to rise from the aircraft.
Photos released following the emergency landing showed the FedEx 767 with the front of the aircraft resting on the ground.
İstanbul Havalimanı’nda gövde üzeri iniş yapan uçağa ait haberi ilk kez az önce burada okudunuz. Ve şimdi o olaya ait görüntüler de ilk kez ve sadece @herdem_aviation ‘da (İnstagram) pic.twitter.com/agUDbTNVbX
— herdem_aviation (@muratherdemm) May 8, 2024
The FedEx pilot would have been trained to execute this type of emergency landing, but the incident reflects an incredible level of competency on their behalf.
According to local media reports, the Boeing 767, registered FX6238, reported problems with the landing gear and performed a flyby to have the equipment visually inspected.
FedEx Boeing 767-300 Cargo aterrou em Instambul sem o trem de proa descido. Antes o avião fez uma passagem baixa sobre a torre de controlo para confirmar visualmente o problema. Estrutura do 767 aguentou perfeitamente o impacto com a pista. Estas coisas acontecem (muito… pic.twitter.com/9ZWr6HaCVu
— José Correia Guedes (@cpt340) May 8, 2024
Following the fly past the decision was made for the pilot to initiate an emergency landing, which was successfully carried out.
There were no reports of any injuries following the incident.