Air China apologizes for landing gear issue on flight

An Air China flight returned to the departure airport on Monday after its front landing gear was found unable to be retracted, the company said on Tuesday, adding that the crew handled the situation according to protocols, and the aircraft landed safely.

The company said in a statement that the flight CA1825 from Beijing Capital International Airport to Changzhou Benniu International Airport returned to the capital airport on Monday.

An initial investigation showed that maintenance staff workers from the company did not remove the safety pin of the front landing gear due to negligence, so the gear was unable to be retracted after takeoff.

The company apologized to the passengers and vowed to look for and rectify any wrongdoings.

The safety pin is used by ground staff workers so that the landing gear would not accidentally retract during the maintenance process and needs to be removed before a flight.