Cargolux Boeing 747

Aug 12, 2023

Less than a week after a dramatic landing gear detachment, another Cargolux Boeing 747 experiences an incident related to the aircraft undercarriage.

European freight operator Cargolux has experienced another incident involving one of its Boeing 747 freighters. Less than a week after a dramatic May 14th incident involving a detached landing gear, one of the carrier's Boeing 747-8Fs declared an emergency as it was approaching Luxembourg Findel Airport. Albeit far less dramatic than the May 14th incident, a low flypast had to be conducted to confirm that all landing gears had been properly deployed.

Cargolux has confirmed that on the afternoon of Saturday, 20th May, the Boeing 747-8F registered LX-VCB had to declare an emergency as it was coming to land at Luxembourg Findel Airport. Operating flight CV5486, the aircraft was nearing the end of its nearly eight-hour trip from Chicago O'Hare Airport.

As the jumbo jet began its approach to Findel, the flight crew encountered an indication signaling that the aircraft’s landing gear had not been properly deployed. As such, the crew executed a low fly past so that observers on the ground could confirm that all gears were down.

As per data from FlightRadar24.com, it appears that the 747 descended as low as 1,925 feet (587 meters) during this procedure. The aircraft was reported to have landed safely, indicating that landing gear had deployed successfully. Nonetheless, emergency services were dispatched as a precaution. The airline adds that no injuries were sustained during this incident.

The incident aircraft is already back in the air, having taken off on May 21st at 06:06 as flight CV4936. This is an 11 to 12-hour flight from Luxembourg to Hong Kong.

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Interestingly, this latest incident comes less than a week after the Cargolux Boeing B747-400F, registered LX-OCV, had issues with its landing gear. Following an indication of a retraction failure after takeoff, the crew of this aircraft elected to divert back to the origin airport. However, upon touchdown, the right-hand center undercarriage wheel bogey assembly detached entirely and subsequently struck the aircraft's rear fuselage as it did so. With at least two people filming the landing, there were several sources who had captured the dramatic incident.

With such a dramatic incident, it's unsurprising that LX-OCV remains on the ground, about a week after the incident.

Cargolux (including Cargolux Italia) operates a fleet of 29 Boeing 747 freighters. This is nearly an even split between the 747-400F, of which there are 15, and the 747-8F, of which there are 14.

So what do you think of this latest incident? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Sources: Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com

Deputy Editor - An experienced photographer and video producer, Chris is a journalistic natural. Degree educated with a wealth of traveling history, Chris’ insight into routes, networks, and alliances brings a depth of quality to his work that is hard to beat. His strong relationships with Middle Eastern and Canadian airlines make him an asset to the team. Currently based in Vilnius, Lithuania.