British Airways plane collapses at Heathrow

Boeing 787’s nose gear appears to have collapsed

A British Airways plane’s nose gear has collapsed on the tarmac at Heathrow airport.

Pictures from the scene show the Boeing 787’s nose tilting forward, with its forward fuselage crumpled onto the ground.

A number of emergency services vehicles rushed to the scene, with footage showing police, the fire brigade and ambulances all in attendance.

The extent of the damage sustained by the aircraft is currently unknown.

A British Airways spokesperson confirmed that no one was onboard the Dreamliner when the incident occurred.

They said: “A freighter aircraft has been damaged while stationary on stand. As a freighter only aircraft there were no passengers on board.

“Safety is always our highest priority and we are investigating the matter.”

According to the airline, as the jet was on stand at the time, there have been no delays at Heathrow as a result of the collapse.

Both flights and passengers remain unaffected, a Heathrow spokesperson confirmed.

The eight-year-old aircraft is fitted with 154 economy, 25 premium economy and 35 business class seats but has recently been used for transporting cargo instead of passengers, following restrictive rules on international travel during the pandemic.

According to analytics experts Cirium, BA currently has 32 Boeing 787s in service, including 12 787-8s (of which G-ZBJB, the aircraft involved in today’s incident, is one), as well as 18 787-9s.

In addition, the airline has two 787-10s and 10 787-10s on firm order.

It’s not the first time a plane has collapsed on the runway.

In March this year, a plane carrying 127 people had to evacuate on the runway when the landing gear collapsed right before take-off.

The incident occurred on Viva Aerobus flight VIV 4343, which was due to fly between Puerto Vallarta and Monterrey in Mexico on 18 March.

As the Airbus A320 jet was lining up to takeoff from Puerto Vallarta airport, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, the plane’s nose landing gear collapsed.

In a statement, the Mexican airline said that all 127 passengers and flight crew were unhurt and safely disembarked the aircraft.