Editor/
A Boeing 737 passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing just minutes after takeoff from a Japanese airport this morning amid safety concerns – the fourth incident to plague the under-fire aircraft maker in just three days.
Flight 166, a 737 jet operated by United Airlines carrying 50 passengers, took off from Fukuoka Airport in southwestern Japan and headed for Guam – only to turn back minutes later when pilots declared an emergency.
The plane landed back on the tarmac at Fukuoka around 11.45am local time after a wing flap was found to be malfunctioning. No casualties were reported.
Yesterday, a total of 190 people were evacuated from a Boeing 737-800 belonging to Turkey-based Corendon Airlines whose tyre burst as it came into land at Gazipasa airport near the Mediterranean coastal town of Alanya.
Pictures from the scene today the stationary aircraft on the tarmac flanked by emergency vehicles – its front wheels and landing gear crumpled underneath.
That came just hours after shocking footage emerged showing the moment terrified passengers fled a burning Boeing 737-300 jet carrying 78 passengers that skidded off the runway and caught fire during take-off in Senegal.
And on Wednesday, a Boeing 767 cargo plane operated by FedEx made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport after its front landing gear failed, with dramatic video showing the nose of the plane skidding across the runway sending sparks and smoke trailing through the air.
There is no suggestion that Boeing is responsible for the mishaps, but such incidents will only compound woes for the company already facing intense scrutiny over safety concerns – as well as the deaths of two whistleblowers just two months apart.
Boeing has also been accused of letting safety lapse as it obsesses over ‘woke’ diversity targets in staffing, as well as over-paying executives working from home.
Current CEO Dave Calhoun announced in March he would be stepping down at the end of this year in a management overhaul, with share prices plunging.
And passengers are said to be deliberately changing flights to avoid Boeing’s fleet or travelling with anti-anxiety medication.
In the case of the crash landing in Senegal yesterday, the plane suffered serious damage when a failed takeoff attempt sent it careening off the tarmac and into the bush at Blaise Diagne airport near the capital city Dakar.
A clip taken by one horrified traveller showed a female customer fleeing the scene of the wreckage as flames poured from the 737’s left engine, lighting up the night sky.
0