Following a malfunction of the nose landing gear, a LATAM airplane was forced to return to its departure airport and make an emergency landing.
The Airbus A320-200, registration CC-BAS, was flying from Medelln-José Mara Córdova Airport (MDE) to Cartagena-Crespo Airport (CTG) in Colombia on domestic flight LA4292.
The flight crew noticed an issue with the nose landing gear shortly after takeoff. The plane returned to its departing airport after warning ATC to make an emergency landing. Personnel from the airport’s fire and emergency departments were dispatched.
The plane landed with its landing gear locked at a 90-degree angle after entering a holding pattern to burn enough fuel. The gear scraped along the runway as the tires blew out. “The landing was conducted in a controlled manner under safe conditions for the occupants of the aircraft and ground staff,” said Aerocivil, Colombia’s Civil Aviation Authority.
While the passengers were deplaned and the plane was hauled off the runway, operations at José Mara Córdova Airport were halted. There were no casualties among the crew or passengers.
“LATAM Airlines Colombia is in contact with Civil Aeronautics to deliver all information required to start the investigation process into this incident,” LATAM told AeroTime in a statement.
