A Turkish Airlines flight bound for Istanbul made a safe return to Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) late last night (16) after experiencing a technical fault in its landing gear system.
According to the airport duty officer, the aircraft landed safely at around 12:17 a.m. today (17).
The Turkish Airlines flight TK733 departed BIA at 10:00 p.m. yesterday carrying 202 passengers and 10 crew members. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot detected that the aircraft’s landing gear had not retracted properly.
Following standard safety procedures, the aircraft was flown over the sea area off Chilaw, maintaining an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet and a speed of around 140 knots, while excess fuel was jettisoned to reduce landing weight. Only the required amount of fuel for a safe return to Katunayake was retained. This process took over two hours.
The aircraft involved is a French-manufactured Airbus A330, one of the largest passenger aircraft in commercial service.
At around 12:17 a.m., the pilot successfully executed a safe landing at Bandaranaike International Airport.
As a precautionary measure, ambulances, fire engines, medical teams and rescue personnel were deployed within the airport premises, while special boats and rescue teams were stationed in the Negombo lagoon.
All passengers were safely disembarked and transferred to nearby hotels. Arrangements have been made to carry out the necessary repairs on the aircraft.
