Dozens injured after Saudi plane crash lands in Jeddah

A Saudi airliner has crash-landed at the Red Sea city of Jeddah, with dozens injured.

2 min read

22 May, 2018

The flight was travelling from Medina to Dhaka in Bangladesh [Twitter]

A Saudi Arabian Airlines plane crash-landed at the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Monday night, with dozens of passengers moderately injured, but the aircraft seems to have been spared a much bleaker fate.

The flight was travelling from Medina to Dhaka in Bangladesh, but had to be diverted to Jeddah after suffering a malfunction with the nose landing gear, according to local press reports.

Saudi Gazette said the Airbus A330-200 made an emergency landing at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz Airport with the nose gear retracted.

The aircraft had circled over Jeddah for several hours and was forced to make two low passes, before it was allowed to land at around 10pm local time.

The plane suffered considerable damage, but passengers were evacuated via emergency slides.

"The pilot made several attempts but failed to correct the malfunction with the front landing gear. Subsequently, the Airbus 330 made an emergency landing with the nose gear retracted," said Abdul-Rahman al-Tayyib, a spokesman for Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Some 52 passengers suffered minor injuries and another was left with fractures according to the reports, after the plane was forced to make the emergency landing at the King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Saudi's Aviation Investigation Bureau (AIB) said a technical malfunction in the plane's hydraulic system had forced the pilot to make the emergency landing.

An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the incident, the AIB added.

Videos circulated on social media showing the moment the plane touched down in Jeddah.