A cargo plane that crash landed at Chattanooga Airport this week, skidding down the main runway amid a flurry of sparks before stopping on a grassy area, was towed Friday to a nearby Federal Express hangar, an airport spokesperson said.
The landing gear for the Boeing 757 aircraft, which experienced a problem and forced the flight crew to take emergency action, was pinned down so the plane could be moved, spokesman Albert Waterhouse said by phone.
He said the airport’s primary runway, which had been handling air traffic in just one direction, has resumed normal, two-way operations.
The owner of the plane was responsible for moving the aircraft, National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Keith Holloway said in a phone interview.
Memphis-based FedEx is identified in a Federal Aviation Administration document as the owner of the plane that has a 2013 certificate issue date.
FedEx spokesperson Shannon Davis declined Friday to answer questions related to the plane.
“Our crew is safe, and any additional questions should be referred to the NTSB,” she said in an email.
The cargo plane departed Chattanooga for Memphis late Wednesday night when the three-member flight crew became aware of the landing gear issue, officials said.
After circling Chattanooga Airport for a period of time to burn off fuel, enabling first responders to scramble to the site, the aircraft slid down the main runway with its landing gear up and came to a stop on the grass near Jubilee Drive, according to officials.
No one was reported injured, though the main runway was closed and the secondary runway was used until Thursday morning.
(READ MORE: Federal investigator arrives at Chattanooga Airport after crash)
An NTSB investigator arrived at the airport Thursday and began gathering information and documenting the plane before it could be moved, Holloway said. A preliminary report on the incident should be ready in 30 days, he said.
FedEx has daily air cargo service between Chattanooga and the parcel delivery company’s hub at Memphis International Airport.
(READ MORE: FedEx combines air, ground, other operations to contain costs)
The FedEx flight crew’s emergency response to the incident is something that is practiced in simulators, said Jim Hall, the Chattanooga Airport Authority chair and former chair of the NTSB, in a phone interview.
“We’re fortunate as a community, we had a major event with a plane full of cargo,” he said. “We had no loss of life and a minor interruption in service at the airport.”
July crash
Meanwhile, the NTSB has issued a report on a July incident involving a single-engine plane that crash-landed at Chattanooga Airport and injured two people.
According to the report, the pilot was distracted while landing, flew too low and the Mooney aircraft contacted several approach lights short of the runway threshold. The report said the pilot was distracted by the opening of a cabin door.
The plane ended up in a grassy area near the airport’s main runway, which was closed for a period of time.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.