{"id":149268,"date":"2026-07-10T19:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T13:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=149268"},"modified":"2026-07-10T18:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T13:06:29","slug":"lufthansa-boeing-787-nose-gear-collapse-at-frankfurt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/10\/lufthansa-boeing-787-nose-gear-collapse-at-frankfurt\/","title":{"rendered":"Lufthansa Boeing 787 Nose Gear Collapse at Frankfurt Traced to One Missing Pin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE-<\/strong> A missing downlock pin caused the nose gear collapse of a nearly new Lufthansa (LH)<\/a> Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at Frankfurt Airport (FRA)<\/a> on June 4, 2026, according to a preliminary report from Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ground crews were preparing the aircraft, registered D-ABPQ and named “Herne,” for flight LH450 to Los Angeles (LAX) when the gear folded at the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dreamliner had arrived that morning from Austin (AUS) and was undergoing landing gear maintenance when its nose dropped to the ground at 12:45 PM local time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BFU released its interim findings on July 9, 2026, confirming that no one had fitted the safety pin meant to hold the nose gear down, and that investigators later found it unused in a storage box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lufthansa
Photo:By MarcelX42 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=125620378<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Missing Downlock Pin Behind the Frankfurt Collapse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The BFU documented that no one had inserted the landing gear downlock pin into the designated hole on the nose landing gear, and that the pin sat nowhere near the nose landing gear either. Instead, investigators recovered the pin inside its storage box, untouched throughout the maintenance session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A maintenance request had been raised the previous evening after an error message related to the landing gear appeared. Engineers set out to resolve a fault in the main landing gear door control system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The procedure required them to place the aircraft on jacks and command the landing gear system while the aircraft stayed on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep the gear from physically retracting during this work, engineers must insert downlock pins into designated holes in each landing gear. With the pins fitted, the door system can operate while the gear stays locked down. Investigators confirmed the pins for both main gears were correctly installed. The nose gear pin was not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here's some real footage on the job showing exactly what we're talking about on a 787 nose gear. Watch how the downlock pin goes in the right spot, and check that plugged hole next to it from the AD..
Boeing had already flagged this and issued a Service Bulletin to install a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/zFwVzOEYGY<\/a><\/p>— Fahad Naim (@Fahadnaimb) June 6, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>