Summary
- A FedEx Boeing 757 freighter made an emergency landing at Chattanooga Airport due to technical issues and suffered significant damage as a result.
- The crew encountered flight control issues and received an unsafe gear warning, requiring them to declare an emergency.
- The aircraft overran the runway upon landing but the crew safely evacuated with no injuries reported. Investigations by the FAA and NTSB are underway.
A FedEx Boeing 757 freighter has suffered significant damage after its landing gear failed upon touchdown at Chattanooga Airport in Tennesee. None of the three crew onboard were injured during the incident.
Details of the incident
A FedEx (Federal Express) Boeing 757-200 freighter performing flight FX1376 between Chattanooga and the airline’s hub at Memphis has been damaged after performing an emergency landing due to technical issues. The incident unfolded late last night, Wednesday, October 4th.
Flight 1376 departed Chattanooga at 22:23 hrs following a routine takeoff from runway 20 at the city’s Lovell Field Metropolitan Airport (CHA). After departure, the crew noticed a technical issue with the aircraft. The crew subsequently leveled off at 5,000ft (1,500m) while the crew worked through checklists.
Approximately 15 minutes later, the crew advised air traffic controllers that they would need to return to the airport but required further time to complete their checks. At this point, the crew hadn’t declared an emergency.
After a further five minutes, the crew advised that they required additional time to lower the flaps to prepare for the landing, following which they would be ready to make their approach. A further four minutes passed before the crew advised that they were experiencing flight control issues but that no further assistance was required at that point.
During the aircraft’s first approach, the crew then advised that they had received an unsafe gear warning on the flight deck and advised that they would be unable to vacate the runway after landing. The crew stated they were unsure as to the exact status of the landing gear and declared an emergency.
Emergency declared
Following the crew upgrading the situation to an emergency, they requested a low approach to have the airport staff check whether the gear was in the down position. After performing a low approach along the runway, ground staff and air traffic controllers reported to the crew of Flight 1376 that no main gear was visible from the ground.
The airport’s emergency services were alerted to a “no gear landing” and were requested to prepare for the plane to land. The flight crew subsequently advised that they would stop on the runway and immediately evacuate the aircraft, which had about an hour of fuel remaining.
After a ten-minute delay, while the crew performed one circuit of the airfield, the aircraft intercepted the localizer for runway 20 and touched down about 85 minutes after departure. The aircraft overran the end of the runway, although the crew was able to evacuate the runway with no injuries.
Footage of the landing shows the aircraft touching down around the runway’s midpoint before sliding on its engines and coming to a halt just off the end of the runway.
The Chattanooga Airport Fire Department put out a statement late on Wednesday night stating that,
“Public safety agencies rushed to the Chattanooga Regional Airport late Wednesday night after receiving reports that a FedEx Boeing 757 was on its final approach with a landing gear failure. The call came in at 23:04 and the Chattanooga Fire Department, Chattanooga Police Department, and [other emergency services] quickly staged in position and waited.”
In a statement issued following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said,
“FedEx Flight 1376 landed with its gear up and slid into the grass at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport at around 23:45. The plane was headed to Memphis International Airport when it returned.”
The FAA and the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the incident and issue a report once those investigations are complete.
History of the aircraft involved
The aircraft involved, a Boeing 757-236SF, is 35.8 years old and was initially delivered to UK charter airline Air Europe in March 1988. The aircraft subsequently flew for several other airlines worldwide in full passenger configuration before it was converted to a freighter and delivered to FedEx in December 2013.
Operating on shorter routes on behalf of FedEx, according to data from ch-aviation.com, the aircraft flew 64.3 hours in September 2023. It completed 24 cycles in the same month with an average daily utilization of just 2 hours and 8 minutes per day.
Sources: Twitter, Aviation Safety Network, ch-aviation.com, The Aviation Herald