A general view shows a Myanmar National Airlines passenger plane after an emergency landing at Mandalay international airport on May 12, 2019.PHOTO: STR / AFP
It was the second aviation incident in Myanmar this week, after a Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane skidded off the runway during strong wind in Yangon on Wednesday, injuring at least 17 of those on board.
An official praised the pilot for bringing the Embraer 190
aircraft in to land at Mandalay airport on Sunday morning
despite the technical failure. No one was hurt. "The pilot did a great job," said Win Khant, permanent secretary of transportation and telecommunication ministry, adding the incident was being investigated.
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Myanmar National Airlines, the state-run carrier, said in a
statement the aircraft had departed from the city of Yangon and
was approaching the airport serving the central city of Mandalay
when the pilot was unable to extend the front landing gear.
Myanmar plane makes emergency landing without front wheelhttps://t.co/UJkuMUtMwD pic.twitter.com/JCGbumK24E
— Yeni Şafak English (@yenisafakEN) May 12, 2019
The pilot, Captain Myat Moe Aung, flew past the airport
twice so that air traffic controllers could check if the landing
gear was down, the airline said. "Then the captain followed emergency procedures and did the fuel burn out to reduce the landing weight," it said.
Video of the landing shows the plane touching down on its
rear wheels before lowering its nose. The aircraft travels some
distance along the runway on its nose, kicking up smoke, before
coming to a halt. The crew then performed an emergency evacuation.
The airline did not say how many people were on board but
Embraer said on its website the aircraft has a typical capacity
of between 96 and 114 seats.
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