American Airlines’ youngest 767-300ER has been seriously damaged in a maintenance accident at the carrier’s Fort Worth, Tex. repair facility.
On July 15th, according to Dallas Morning News reports, the aircraft was seriously damaged when the nose gear of the plane retracted, causing the front end of the plane to hit the ground. No one was injured.
The plane had recently been taken on a test flight following some heavy maintenance. During the flight, a “hydraulic driven generator” failed, leading repair crews to return to the plane after it landed. At some point, the landing gear lever was moved to the “up” position, apparently without any pins having been placed in the landing gear to prevent it from moving.
Another photo shows the main gear doors opened, which would indicate that the main gear also began the process of retracting. For some unknown reason, and no doubt to the relief of AA officials, they remained on the ground.
A statement from the Allied Pilots Association said “initial investigation rumors indicate the aircraft may be damaged beyond repair.” Airline officials, however, stress that they are still in the process of determining the extent of the damage. With the list price of a 767 floating around $150 million, however, the damage will have to be quite severe to justify declaring it a loss. The aircraft, registration N350AN, is relatively new by airliner standards. It is the last 763 delivered to AA, entering service in 2003.
