June 5, 2026, 3:01 p.mJune 5, 2026, 3:01 p.m
Five people were injured in a Dreamliner breakdown at Frankfurt Airport.
Among them were two Lufthansa employees and three colleagues from external companies, Lufthansa announced one day after the breakdown with the nose gear of a Boeing 787-9. The two Lufthansa employees were able to leave the hospital on Thursday evening, it was said. Lufthansa did not provide any information about the condition of the other three injured people.
The nose wheel suddenly collapsed.Image: DPA Mike Seeboth
On Thursday, Lufthansa announced that two Lufthansa cabin crew employees and other employees of service companies had been taken to a hospital for medical care.
13 Lufthansa crew members on board – passengers waited outside
According to Lufthansa, the aircraft’s nose gear unexpectedly collapsed in a parking position at the German airport on Thursday afternoon. During the incident, the plane with flight number LH450 was at boarding position A15 in front of Terminal 1. It was supposed to fly to Los Angeles.
At that time there were only employees on board: 13 Lufthansa crew members and a few employees from partner companies. The passengers were waiting for boarding.
According to dpa information, the flight was scheduled to take off at 1:50 p.m. Boarding for long-haul flights usually takes around 30 minutes. This means that the first passengers would have already been on board at around 1:15 p.m. According to its own information, the company currently has 17 Dreamliners in its fleet.
The aircraft was righted and towed to the technical area
In the meantime, the affected aircraft was towed to the technical area. Lufthansa said the Boeing 787-9 was defueled and raised during the night. “After lifting, the landing gear was extended and the aircraft was towed to the technical area on its own wheels.” According to Fraport, there was no impact on flight operations on Friday.
The Federal Aircraft Accident Investigation Board began investigating the incident on Thursday, Lufthansa said. “Lufthansa is supporting the investigations.” Once the investigations have been completed, the Boeing 787 will be repaired.
Similar incident in London in 2021
A similar incident occurred in June 2021 at London’s Heathrow Airport with a Boeing 787-8. During preparations for a cargo flight to Frankfurt/Main, the nose of the aircraft crashed into the ground and two people were slightly injured.
An investigation into the incident in London found that a locking pin, designed to prevent the landing gear from retracting in certain settings, had been accidentally inserted in the wrong place. The correct spot was therefore right next to it, and the design was a source of error. The operator and the airport then introduced a number of safety measures, including corrections to the aircraft and changes to maintenance and emergency procedures, it was said. (sda/dpa)