summary
- Lufthansa German Airlines flight LH-433 declared a state of emergency and began a go-around due to a problem with its landing gear at Frankfurt International Airport.
- Passengers were given an emergency landing briefing and, as a precaution, instructed to adopt a stationary position for the second landing.
- Lufthansa recently announced plans to put more Airbus A380s back into service, bringing its total fleet to eight, with plans to operate at airports such as Los Angeles and Bangkok.
The aircraft, registered as D-AIGN, was forced to initiate a go-around when attempting to land at Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) earlier this week. The plane, which was operated by Lufthansa German Airlines, had a problem with its landing gear and began a go-around.
Crew declares emergency
The aircraft, a 25-year-old Airbus A340-400, departed Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago, Illinois at 23:06 local time on September 5. Flight LH-433 was delayed by about 30 minutes and was originally scheduled to take off at around 22:30 local time. The transatlantic flight had no problems.
The plane was scheduled to land in Frankfurt at around 14:00 local time. LH-433 was on final approach to runway 07L in Frankfurt when it began go-around procedures. A go-around was initiated approximately 200 feet above the ground, less than 0.5 nautical miles before the start of the runway.
Photo: Suparat Chairat Prasat | Shutterstock
It is said that the reason for the go-around was that there was a problem with the landing gear. The flight then began climbing to his FL070 and dialed 7700 to declare a general emergency. This started the waiting at Frankfurt International Airport. As the aircraft began circling the airport, passengers were briefed by flight attendants for an emergency landing. As a precautionary measure, passengers were instructed to adopt an immobilized position during the second landing.
The aircraft was to circle the airport briefly before attempting a second landing. The A340 landed safely on runway 07R in Frankfurt just 32 minutes after the start of the go-around. As a precaution, the plane was greeted by paramedics.
The airline could not be reached for comment.
More recent Lufthansa news
The German flag carrier has been in the news recently for another reason as well. The airline announced late last month that it would return to service more Airbus A380s. Lufthansa returned to service the A380 for the first time in June earlier this year.
The first Lufthansa A380 flight after the COVID-19 pandemic was from Munich International Airport (MUC) to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). The flight was registered as LH-424 and occurred on June 1. Martin Hoel, one of the flight deck operators and captain of Lufthansa’s Airbus A380, said of the first flight:
“Today, we are delighted to welcome the Airbus A380 back into regular service.
The company also made its first A380 flight to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in July of this year. Lufthansa announced later this year that the A380 will begin operating at both Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flight
In the future, Lufthansa plans to put five more A380s back into service. This brings the total number of Lufthansa A380s in service to eight. As Lufthansa aims to bring back more A380s, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said:
“I am really happy to have made the decision for the Airbus A380. A year after making the decision, it turns out to be even more important than when I made the decision.”
The company now has six more for sale.