Q400 Has Landing Grear Problem in Japan

A Bombardier plane landed safely at an airport in southern Japan after having trouble releasing its landing gear, officials said Tuesday, just a week after another Bombardier plane made an emergency landing because of landing gear problems.

None of the 18 people aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 plane were injured and there was no damage to the plane, said Mai Otsuka, an official with flight operator Amakusa Airlines.

The plane was approaching Kumamoto airport around noon when the landing gear failed to extend, forcing the pilot to resort to a backup system that allowed the gear to be manually released.

It was not clear how many of the plane's wheels were affected by the trouble, Otuska said.

Public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency reported all three wheels of the plane failed to initially descend.

Last Tuesday, another Bombardier DHC-8 operated by All Nippon Airways made an emergency landing with only its rear wheels after the front landing gear failed to extend. None of the 60 people aboard were injured.

The mishap last week was the latest in a string of problems with ANA's fleet of Canadian-made Bombardier aircraft, which forced Japan's second-largest airline to issue a formal apology last year. The airline operates five DHC 8-300 and 13 DHC-8-400 aircraft.

Kumamoto is 907 kilometers (567 miles), southwest of Tokyo.

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