Myanmar plane lands without front wheel

Naypyitaw, May 12 (IANS) A Myanmar National Airlines plane with 89 people on board made an emergency landing at Mandalay International Airport on Sunday, with only its rear wheels after the front landing gear failed to deploy.The Embraer 190 aircraft skidded down the runway at the airport before grinding to a stop. The pilot managed to land the plane on its nose, causing no injuries to the dozens of passengers and crew on board.Captain Myat Moe Aung circled the airport twice to allow air traffic controllers to determine if the landing gear was down, the airline was cited as saying by the BBC.The aircraft had departed from Yangon and was approaching Mandalay when the pilot was unable to extend the front landing gear. He followed emergency procedures and burned excess fuel to reduce the aircraft's weight, according to the airline.A video of the landing showed the plane landing on its rear wheels before the nose touched down on the runway. The plane skidded for about 25 seconds before it stopped.The incident was the second aviation accident in Myanmar this week. On Wednesday, a Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane skidded off the runway when it landed in bad weather at Yangon International Airport, injuring 17 people.
--IANS soni/bg