THE PILOT OF an IranAir Boeing 727 who was hailed a hero after successfully landing the passenger plane without its front wheels last week has been suspended pending an investigation into the incident.
Footage of the dramatic landing was watched around the world after the plane arrived in Tehran on Tuesday.
The front wheels of the plane’s landing gear failed to engage and drop down in preparation for touching down and the pilot succeeded in keeping the nose of the plane off the ground while balancing on the back wheels during the landing.
One of the flight’s passengers told Russia’s LifeNews that the pilot did not tell passengers about the difficulty until very shortly before landing.
Oleg Gordeev said he had noticed the flight attendants looking very worried as the plane circled in the air to use up excess fuel. One became so panicked that her colleagues locked her in a bathroom.
He said that after the initial shock of the landing, the passengers were very grateful to the pilot involved.
Iran’s Fars news service has reported that the pilot has been suspended for two months while an investigation into the incident is carried out.
It had earlier reported that international sanctions against Iran were preventing it from accessing parts to maintain its air fleet and that last week’s front wheel issue was believed to be the result of a technical problem.
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