Dhaka airport closes runway for 30 mins after plane loses gear mid-air

Authorities at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) had to close down its runway for more than half-an-hour on Saturday after an incoming passenger aircraft suffered a malfunction and one of its gears detached before landing.

The runway was kept shut between 3pm and 3:40pm in the afternoon, the HSIA said in a statement.

The Dash 8-Q400 aircraft, manufactured by De Havilland Canada, landed safely at the airport at 3:10pm after circling above a specific area repeatedly to burn fuel and shed weight.

Operating as BG-436 flight, the aircraft left Cox’s Bazar at 1:35pm and was set to reach the Dhaka airport at 2:30pm.

However, soon after take-off, it lost one of its back gears. Upon noticing the fault, the pilot took a detour and circled above Nagarpur and Delduar areas in Tangail for around 40 minutes.

The pilot sought to burn additional fuel, and reduce the aircraft’s weight to help ensure a safe and steady landing, without needing the support of the lost back gear.

The disruptions kept an unspecified number of other flights mid-air for around 30 minutes while the runway was kept shut for safety reasons.

Among these, a Himalaya Airlines flight from Kathmandu was reportedly kept waiting mid-air for a long time, and was the first to land following the landing of the BG-435 flight.