Cathay Pacific makes an emergency landing at Manchester airport

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRBUS A350-1041 B-LXO (MSN 434)

A Cathay Pacific A350-1041 made an emergency landing at Manchester airport  in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2022, after a gear retraction problem. The aircraft departed Manchester International Airport (MAN/EGCC) at 13:00 local time (12:00 UTC) bound for Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport (HKG/VHHH). As the pilots started their climb out and retracted the undercarriage they reported problems retracting the gear and elected to return to the airport for an emergency landing.

A live stream of the plane’s take-off showed the landing gear starting to retract after take-off, before moving back down again. The aircraft, operating flight CX216, climbed to 5,000 feet initially, then 7,000 feet before maintaining 12,000 feet while circling over the Irish Sea for around 30 minutes, most likely to dump fuel to make it lighter for landing.

The A350 landed safely on runway 23L at Manchester at approximately 14:24 local time (13:24 UTC), where it was met by fire trucks, as is standard procedure for this type of landing. The aircraft then taxied by itself back to the terminal.

Aircraft Aviation

Airline: Cathay Pacific

Code: CX/CPA

Aircraft: Airbus A350-1041

Registration: B-LXN

Serial Number: 424

Engines: 2 x RR Trent XWB-97

Age: 1 Yr 3 Mts