All Nippon's Dash 8's Grounded after another Landing Gear Incident

All Nippon Airways said Tuesday that it was self-grounding its fleet of 13 Dash 8 Q400's (DHC 8-400) following the nose-gear up landing of one of them on 13 March at Kochi after its arrival from Osaka. Several touch and go attempts to dislodge the stuck-up nosegear were unsuccessful. The incident was only the latest in a string of problems with ANA's fleet of the Canadian-made Bombardier aircraft. Japan's second-largest airline issued a formal apology last year for their sub-standard performances. Yesterday also, Japan's Transport Ministry followed through by ordering immediate inspections of all 36 "Dash-8s" used in Japan.

Last year the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau asked Bombardier to improve the reliability of Q400s, saying there had been more problems with the aircraft than with other newly developed types. Officials said at the time that problems with the landing gear were of particular concern. Nationwide in Japan, there have been 77 reported incidents of irregularities with Bombardier planes since 2003. The problems range from faulty lighting to bigger issues such as failed landing gear. In 2004, the right wheel of a Dash 8 broke off during a landing at Kochi airport, but with no injuries. In February 2006, a flight crew was forced to deploy their plane's landing gear manually after all three sets of wheels refused to come down.