A Fokker 100 operated by Indonesia's Merpati Nusantara made an emergency landing on west Timor after its left main landing failed to deploy properly.
The aircraft's 88 passengers and six crew were uninjured, and the aircraft suffered no serious damage, says a Merpati spokesman, referring to last night's incident at El Tari airport which serves the west Timor capital Kupang.
"The plane was forced to land with only its right landing gear because the left hand gear could not extend properly," he says.
The aircraft is still blocking El Tari's runway 07, says the spokesman, who adds that he expects the aircraft will be removed soon. The carrier has yet to ascertain the cause of the malfunction, he says. It had been operating from Ujung Pandang in Sulawesi to Kupang.
The aircraft's local registration is PK-MJD. According to Flightglobal's ACAS database Garuda Indonesia is the owner of the 15-year old aircraft.
Merpati had another incident on 6 July, in which a wheel on the landing-gear of a Merpati Boeing 737-400 fell off as it was taking off from an airport in eastern Indonesia.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
