Crew members of a Lufthansa Cargo Boeing MD-11 freighter have been hospitalised after the aircraft broke up on landing at Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Lufthansa Cargo says the aircraft suffered a "hard landing" and "broke into two pieces" but adds that the pilots are safe, and being transported to hospital.
Sources familiar with the situation state that the aircraft involved is a 17-year old airframe, registered D-ALCQ, powered by General Electric CF6 engines and owned by the carrier.
Images from the scene, carried in the Saudi media, show the burning aircraft being attended by firefighters.
Circumstances of the heavy landing remain unclear.
King Khaled International Airport is the kingdom's capital hub. It has two parallel runways although a NOTAM message shows that one of these, runway 15L/33R, is currently closed for maintenance.
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Source: AlRiyadh |
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
