Japan airline grounds fleet after landing gear failure

Nippon Airways grounded its entire fleet of Bombardier planes in Japan today after the front landing gear on one failed to descend.

The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing with 60 people on board.

No one was injured when the Bombardier DHC-8 turboprop landed on its rear wheels and then carefully touched its nose to the runway.

Sparks shot from the bottom of the white and blue fuselage as the plane skidded to a halt, but the pilot kept it on the tarmac.

The mishap 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.

ANA said it was grounding its fleet of 13 Bombardiers for inspection and wouldn’t resume service until their safety had been confirmed.

The plane, carrying 56 passengers and four crew members, circled for nearly two hours over Kochi airport in western Japan as it tried to extend its front wheels and negotiate an emergency landing.

Rescue trucks sprayed the plane with fire retardant chemicals after it landed, and relieved passengers debarked.

The cause of the failure is not yet known, ANA spokesman Daisuke Kato said. The Transportation Ministry planned to launch an investigation, ministry spokesman Tetsu Shimizu said.