Lufthansa’s Frankfurt – Los Angeles flight 450 had to be cancelled on Thursday when the nose gear of the Boeing 787-9 collapsed or unexpectedly retracted, collapsing onto the ground.
Passengers hadn’t boarded the aircraft, but crew and ground staff were on board, and several employees were injured and required medical attention. There was a ground handler on a highloader beside the aircraft, and another worker near the plane’s nose, however those employees were not injured.
NEW: Front landing gear of a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 collapses while parked at the gate at Frankfurt Airport.
No statement has currently been made regarding the cause or whether there were any injuries. pic.twitter.com/TgK4bTxQjj
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 4, 2026
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 4, 2026
This plane is equipped with Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabin and had only just been delivered to Lufthansa in January 2026. It had come in from Austin at 7:03 a.m. this morning, and the incident occurred at 12:45 p.m.
The cause of the incident with aircraft D-ABPQ “Herne” is not yet known. However, it immediately brings to mind a 2021 British Airways Boeing 787-8 issue at London Heathrow, where the plane’s nose landing gear downlock pin had been inserted into the wrong hole. When the gear was cycled during maintenance, it retracted and the plane’s nose hit the ground.
In fact, there were at least two nose grear retractions on Boeing 787s by 2018 which triggered a service bulletin and an FAA Airworthiness Directive.
Passengers scheduled to fly Lufthansa 450 to Los Angeles are going to wind up with delays sufficient to warrant EU261 compensation of €600 apiece. With 287 seats on the aircraft, that’s $200,000 in potential cash liability compenating passengers, depending on how full the flight was and how many passengers are savvy enough to request the compensation.
A warning light on the flight deck for everything but the locking pin on the nose gear…