The aftermath of an incident where a Cargolux Boeing 747-400F struck the runway at Luxembourg Findel Airport (LUX) has been captured on video and in a series of images. The aircraft eventually landed safely at LUX several minutes later.
The Boeing 747-400F, registered as LX-ECV was operating flight CLX5BP from Dubai World International Airport (DWC) to LUX, having flown from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to DWC on April 15, 2023. Upon landing at LUX, the freighter made a hard landing and following a bounce, hit the runway with its left-hand engines.
Following the incident at 6:30 PM local time (UTC +2), the crew immediately initiated a go-around, climbed to a peak altitude of 4,000 feet (1,219 meters), and landed safely at the same airport at 4:45 PM local time (UTC +2).
Images of the aftermath show extensive damage to the number two engine (inner-wing left-hand side engine).
Cargolux took delivery of the Boeing 747-400F on October 30, 2013. The aircraft, powered by four General Electric (GE) CF6 engines, was initially ordered by Kuwait-based LoadAir Cargo. The proposed cargo carrier never began operations and, according to ch-aviation.com data, resulted in the Queen of the Skies being stored between 2009 and 2013.
Data from ch-aviation.com also shows that LX-ECV has accumulated a total of 813 flight hours (FH) and 136 flight cycles (FC) throughout the first three months of 2023.
“A Cargolux aircraft was involved in an incident during landing at Findel Airport on Saturday evening. The pilots aborted their first attempt to land and performed a go-around,” a Cargolux spokesperson said in an emailed statement to AeroTime. According to them, the aircraft landed safely on the second attempt and “there were no injuries to the crew or anyone on the ground”.
“The incident has been reported to the DAC [Directorate of Civil Aviation – ed. note] and an internal investigation into the incident is also being conducted in accordance with company procedures,” the Cargolux spokesperson added. “The aircraft suffered some damage as a result of the aborted first landing attempt and remains grounded until all inspections and necessary repairs have been completed.”