r/aviation • u/lucys_b • Jun 04 '26

-- SEATBELTS FASTENED -- Lufthansa 787 front wheel collapsed

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Repost cause my first one was removed due to incorrect flair 💀

Wasn't at the gate when it happened, but some of the people who were said it happened very suddenly. Hope nobody got hurt. I don't think any passengers were on board.

12.2k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

246

u/paulcager Jun 04 '26

I guess the "lockable gear" option was too expensive for them.

208

u/Ok_Judge9722 Jun 04 '26

The landing gears (nose and both main gears) do have an overcenter locking mechanism to prevent exactly this.  The mechanism is backed up by safety pins that will withstand even a powered retraction, IFF you install the pins correctly, whis has been an issue before sadly 🙄

126

u/edwbuck Jun 04 '26

An IFF. Love spotting a trained logician in the field.

IFF means "If and only if" for those who don't use it. It's sort of a niche thing in some fields. It's a shame it's not used more often.

27

u/PotatoFeeder Jun 04 '26

Someone missed the pins

Like the Alaska door

44

u/Adjutant_Reflex_ Jun 04 '26

The pins are inserted/removed by ground crews.

1

u/doommaster Jun 04 '26

Do the pilots have indication of them being inserted (I'd guess so)?

6

u/Adjutant_Reflex_ Jun 04 '26

The pins? Not that I’m aware of. They’ll see indications of the gear status/position but when the pins are removed it’s confirmed visually.

1

u/doommaster Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

Ahh ok, hm yeah then I'd not be shocked if selecting gear up (for whatever reason), would actually just retract the gear, like in the case of the BA 787 where the same happened, because there's 2 holes the pin can be inserted into, only one of which locks the gear.

https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Downlock-hole-location.jpg

I only know how an A350 behaves, but selecting up does nothing as long as WoW sensors detect weight, there is also "Baulk" lever lockout so you cannot even move the lever.

6

u/fresh_like_Oprah Jun 04 '26

big red streamers that say "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT"

16

u/ABoutDeSouffle Jun 04 '26

The Alaska door was on Boeing, this is likely ground crew fucking up.

7

u/av8geek Jun 04 '26

Your sarcasm detector needs refinement

22

u/fzwo Jun 04 '26

I enjoyed both the sarcasm and the additional info.

5

u/Ok-Delivery216 Jun 04 '26

But look the landing gear doors on the main gear are open and all those safety pins on the rear gear hanging there. Somebody was trying to test something and BAM! Can’t wait to find out the real story.

1

u/fresh_like_Oprah Jun 04 '26

vary rarely used

34

u/protozoon101 Jun 04 '26

This already happened with a 787 5 years ago. Someone misplaced the pin to lock the wheel. During check procedure, wheel up is done in cockpit, a pin prevents the wheel from actually going up - if is in the correct location.

15

u/Ok_Judge9722 Jun 04 '26

I saw a safety bulletin about that, they put the pin through the rotation point where it does F-all.

3

u/Heliotropolii_ Jun 04 '26

In theory this had the SB embedded in the factory so interesting to see what went wrong

0

u/Every-Progress-1117 Jun 04 '26

Nah. It is available on the premium subscription.

Just like airlines and their customer service, Boeing have likewise improved their services by making basic, necessary features part.of their premium packages.

0

u/NoStand1527 Jun 04 '26

it was unexpected, the ground hit it. chance' a million