A Dhaka-bound Saudi Arabian Airlines flight made an emergency landing at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah following a malfunction of its hydraulic system and subsequent retraction of its nose gear on Monday night (Saudi time).
The plane sustained little damage when its nose sank to the ground while landing. Medical teams at the airport treated 70 passengers while four others were taken to the health centre, reports Saudi Gazette.
The aircraft had circled over Jeddah for several hours and was forced to make two low passes, before it was allowed to land at around 10pm local time.
Abdurahman Al-Tayyib, spokesman for Saudia Airlines, said the SV3818 flight, which was travelling from Madinah to Dhaka, developed some malfunction of the hydraulic system around 8 pm Monday and was therefore diverted to Jeddah airport, Al-Madinah daily reported.
"The pilot made several attempts but failed to correct the malfunction with the front landing gear. Subsequently, the Air Bus 330 made an emergency landing with the nose gear retracted," he said.
Al-Tayyib said that the flight made an emergency evacuation. There were 141 passengers on board in addition to 10 crew members. The concerned authorities have started a probe into the accident, he said.
