March 30, 2004
Falcon 900’s emergency landing provides a lucky escape

On February 9, at approximately 1.30am, a Falcon 900 strayed off the runway after it made an emergency landing at London Stansted Airport in the UK.

The aircraft, which was en- route to Luton from Tanzania in Africa, radioed air traffic control to report a problem with the undercarriage, just after 1.00am.

The aircraft was diverted to land at Stansted and did land safely, but shortly after touchdown the nose wheel and the rear right-hand wheel collapsed.

The Falcon skidded onto its belly off the runway and into the adjoining grass.

The two crew and two passengers left the aircraft safely, after it had been surrounded with foam by fire crews to lessen the risk of fire.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, but one of the passengers was examined by a paramedic at the scene.

The runway was closed until 5.00am, so that staff could clear away the foam and check for debris. Two incoming flights had to be diverted to Luton before the runway was fully functional once again.