INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY INTO ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES NOSE GEAR COLLAPSE
(Posted 06th March 2016)
The collapse of a nose gear of a Boeing B787 Dreamliner on pushback from the gate in Addis Ababa is now subject to an investigation by the Ethiopian aviation regulators.
About to leave for flight ET702 to Rome last night did the aircraft then fall on its hull causing substantial damage to the aircraft while on board one flight attendant was injured.
Passengers were reportedly evacuated from the aircraft using stairs. The aircraft named Mt. Nyala is registered as ET-ASH with manufacturer’s serial number 38754/283. It first took to the air in a pre-delivery test flight on 13th of March 2015 before being delivered to Ethiopian Airlines on April 01st last year.
In service for just 11 months has the plane reportedly undergone regular maintenance as prescribed by Boeing, suggesting that the nose gear collapse might have been a result of human error rather than a technical fault. Suggestions are circulating that the removal of nose gear pins may have been responsible but only the unfolding investigation will eventually give a cause and will prescribe remedies.
Nose gear collapses on the ground are not common and this is the first reported case for a Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner.
Hull repairs on aircraft made of composite materials are equally novel, although Ethiopian Airlines has some experience with this task after restoring another B787, ET-AOP to service after a faulty beacon caused a brief fire which burned through the hull in London on the 12th of July 2013.
