Luxair silences staff after emergency landing

(JB) Luxair staff have been asked not to talk about the emergency landing made by a Bombardier Q400 at Saarbrücken airport on September 30.

An internal message circulated by Luxair Group, confirmed information about the aborted take-off and emergency landing without landing gear, which resulted in pilots landing the aircraft on its underbelly.

At the end of the message, Luxair asked staff to refrain from commenting on the incident or proposing any hypotheses on what could have caused it, if asked by customers, friends or the media.

“Please also avoid posting your opinions on this subject on social networks. If journalists question you, direct them towards the communications department”, the message read.

The Bombardier Q400 aircraft was flying from Hamburg to Luxembourg and was taking off from Saarbrücken airport at around 10am after a lay-over when its pilot reported a technical fault.

The pilot aborted the take-off and, because of a landing gear failure, was forced to land the aircraft on its underbelly.

Among the 16 passengers and four crew members, no-one was injured during the incident.

However, the runway was damaged causing several flights to be cancelled. The aircraft, meanwhile, suffered serious damage.

Luxair said in the same statement that in the short-term it would have to adapt its flight schedule and perhaps even cancel some flights because of the loss of the aircraft.

Do not miss the news - sign up to receive the wort.lu newsletter in English delivered to your inbox six days a week.