Yesterday a China Southern Airbus A320-200 flying from Guangzhou to Shijiazhuang, China encountered a nose gear problem upon landing. As a result, the crew applied emergency brakes and the aircraft performed an extremely short landing run. With 143 passengers on board, there were no reports of injuries.

Flight details

Flight path of China Southern flight CZ-6540. Photo: FlightRadar24

According to Aviation Herald, the aircraft was performing flight CZ-6540 from Guangzhou to Shijiazhuang. The aircraft departed on time and actually arrived 20 minutes early.

Passengers involved in the incident reported that the landing run was extremely short. What followed was the smell of burnt rubber filling the air of the cabin. In the aftermath of the landing, the nose gear appeared bent and damaged. With passengers deplaned, the aircraft was towed off the runway approximately two hours after landing. Investigators are looking into the incident.

Aircraft details

The aircraft involved is an Airbus A320-200 with registration B-9911. The aircraft is 6.6 years old and has been with China Southern airlines since the beginning of its service - April 2013.

The flight number CZ-6540 consists of two flights. The first one being Guangzhou to Shijiazhuang and the second part going from Shijiazhuang to Dalian. Assuming it took some time to arrange for an alternate aircraft, the Shijiazhuang to Dalian flight departed four hours past its scheduled time and arrived just under four hours late.

According to FlightRadar24, the aircraft involved, B-9911, is still on the ground in Shijiazhuang at the time of writing this article.

Other nose gear incidents

Clearly, the nose gear is an important part of the landing process... and general operation of the aircraft. While this doesn't happen frequently (thankfully), it does happen from time to time.

In May, Myanmar National Airlines flight 103 landed at Mandalay International Airport and encountered a landing gear malfunction. The 10-year-old Embraer 190 aircraft had a malfunction deploying the gear and the crew was forced to make an emergency landing without it. Thankfully there were no reports of injuries in this incident.

Also occurring in May, Singapore Airlines flight AQ406 experienced a hydraulic issue with its nose gear, causing a very hard landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. This prompted an emergency response from the airport. All 228 passengers disembarked safely, but the plane underwent approximately 17 hours of repairs before it could make the return trip.

Conclusion

Thankfully this doesn't happen too often. However, when situations like this arise, crew are trained to ensure the smoothest landing possible with passenger safety in mind. Furthermore, emergency crews are almost always dispatched to the aircraft immediately.

Have you ever been involved in an emergency landing? Let us know in the comments!

A320 stuck under a bridge
China Southern Airlines queried the ban. Photo: lasta29 via Wikimedia Commons

We contacted China Southern and requested a comment. However, we have not yet received a response from the airline. We will be sure to update this article if a response is received.