A Kenya Airways flight from Dubai to Juba diverted to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after losing one of its landing gears in Sharjah, marking the second such incident on the same route in less than a year.
Kenya Airways (KQ) confirmed on Tuesday that its operations control team received a report from Sharjah Airport authorities about tyre debris found on the runway.
The debris was traced back to the carrier’s Boeing 737 Freighter, which was on a routine flight from Sharjah to Juba.
In a similar incident last December, KQ flight 310 returned to JKIA an hour after departing for Dubai due to a tyre dropping off during takeoff.
The latest incident prompted the Kenya Airports Authority to temporarily close the runway, disrupting normal operations. The airline decided to divert the flight to Nairobi instead of continuing to Juba, due to better handling equipment for emergencies at JKIA.
This cargo flight normally makes a stopover at Juba to drop and pick cargo before proceeding to its hub in Nairobi.
The aircraft performed an overflight at JKIA, allowing ground teams to visually inspect the landing gear. “They confirmed that only one of the six wheels was damaged and that the aircraft had adequate wheels for a safe landing,” Kenya Airways said in a statement.
The Boeing 737 Freighter landed safely at 12:55 PM local time. However, during the braking process, another tyre failed, causing the aircraft to become immobilized on the runway.
“This tyre failure caused the aircraft to become immobilised on the runway, necessitating immediate action,” the airline stated.
Airport authorities and airline engineers replaced the damaged tyres and coordinated efforts to tow the aircraft to a safe location off the runway.
Kenya Airways assured the public of its commitment to maintaining the highest safety standards and thanked all involved parties for their swift and effective response to the incident.
