During the night from Monday to Tuesday, Sundair flight SR3289, operated by FlyAir41 with the Airbus A319 with registration 9A-BWK, experienced a technical problem immediately after landing at Bremen Airport. As a result, the medium-haul jet spent a few hours on the runway of the north German airport.

The flight took place from Fuerteventura to Bremen on August 28, 2023 and was completely unspectacular until landing. During the roll-off, however, the pilots realized that something is not at all common. There was a problem with the undercarriage. For safety reasons, the master decided that 9A-BWK should be stopped immediately. At the time of the decision, the Airbus A319 was traveling at around 50 kilometers per hour.

There were 150 passengers and five crew members on board, who were able to exit the aircraft unharmed via stairs on the runway. An initial visual inspection by the pilots showed that the nose landing gear was misaligned and a pin had come loose. The operator has decided to contact the manufacturer first and wait for their recommendation.

Manufacturer's recommendation was awaited before towing

The background to this is that immediate towing with the defect occurring for an unknown reason could have resulted in considerable structural damage occurring as a result of the towing process. Following instructions from the aircraft manufacturer, this Airbus A319 was lifted slightly and the pin returned to its target position. The wheels were also turned in the direction of travel. The medium-haul jet was then brought to a parking position.

The runway at Bremen Airport was blocked for a few hours due to the incident. However, this did not have any serious impact on flight operations, because the ban on night flights came into force shortly after the landing of 9A-BWK. The jet was towed by the airport's ground handling in good time before Tuesday's first flight.

The 9A-BWK cannot be deployed for an indefinite period of time because the operator reported the incident to the Federal Aviation Authority in accordance with the regulations. It is now the BFU's turn, because their experts will get an idea of ​​the situation on site. After that, the repair release is expected. It is still unclear how long it will be before this medium-haul jet can be used commercially again.

Landing Gear is less than three years old

According to FlyAir 41, the 9A-BWK was delivered on April 18, 2011 and was therefore 12,4 years old at the time of the incident. The original operator was the defunct holiday airline Germania under the registration D-ASTA. The machine was then used as LY-KIT by Getjet Airlines. This Airbus A319 joined the Sundair fleet in 2021 as D-ASSB before the machine was taken over by sister company FlyAir2023 Airways in May 41 under today's registration.

According to operator information, the landing gear that malfunctioned during the landing in Bremen on August 28, 2023 has been mounted on this aircraft since December 2020. In the meantime, it has been regularly checked and serviced according to the manufacturer's specifications. The accident investigation carried out by the German BFU will show what caused the incident. It is therefore necessary to await their report.