A Turkish Airlines aircraft that departed from the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) bound for Istanbul, Turkey, last night (16) has managed to make a safe return and land at the BIA after experiencing a technical fault in its landing gear system.

The airport duty officer stated that the aircraft was brought back and landed at around 12:17 a.m. today (17).

The Turkish Airlines TK733 flight departed the BIA at 10:00 p.m. yesterday for Istanbul with 202 passengers and 10 crew members on board.

Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reportedly became aware that the aircraft’s landing gear had failed to retract properly into the aircraft.

Accordingly, the aircraft was flown to the sea area off Chilaw, where it maintained an altitude of about 4,000 feet and a speed of approximately 140 knots, while fuel was jettisoned into the sea, retaining only the amount required to return safely to Katunayake Airport.

The pilot spent over two hours carrying out this procedure. The aircraft is reported to be a French-manufactured Airbus A330, one of the largest passenger aircraft types.

As a result, at around 12:17 a.m., the pilot successfully made a safe landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Meanwhile, as a precaution, ambulances, fire engines, medical teams and rescue personnel were deployed within the airport premises, and special boats and rescue teams were also positioned in the Negombo lagoon.

The passengers were safely disembarked and transported to nearby hotels, and steps have been taken to send the aircraft for necessary repairs.