Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 operating flight TK-733 from Colombo to Istanbul made a safe emergency landing at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, around 12.30 a.m. today after a defect was detected in its landing gear.
The flight landed two and a half hours after departure, following the identification of a technical fault.The air craft was carrying 202 passengers and 10 crew members.
Following the detection of the malfunction, the runway at BIA was placed on emergency standby. As a safety precaution, the pilot carried out a controlled fuel dump over the sea to reduce the aircraft’s weight before landing.
At the time, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet over the Chilaw area. Fire engines, ambulances, and emergency response teams were deployed along the runway in preparation.
Airport authorities confirmed that the aircraft landed safely, and no injuries were reported.
