At 12:45 on Thursday, June 4, 2026, a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner standing at its gate suffered a sudden mechanical failure: the nose landing gear retracted without warning, dropping the forward fuselage roughly two metres onto the tarmac. The aircraft, flight LH450 bound for Los Angeles, was parked at position A15 outside Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport. Boarding had not yet begun; only 13 Lufthansa crew members and several ground service employees were on board. The 236 passengers, who would have started boarding about 15 minutes later, were still in the terminal.

Injuries and immediate response

The abrupt collapse threw those inside the cabin violently to the floor. Lufthansa said two cabin crew and three employees of partner service companies were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The two Lufthansa staff members were discharged Thursday evening. A company spokesperson said:

“At the time of the incident, only crew and ground staff were on board. Passengers were not yet boarded. Several people were slightly injured.”

No passengers were hurt.

Technicians defueled the aircraft overnight and hoisted it so the landing gear could be extended. By Friday morning, the jet had been towed on its own wheels to a Lufthansa technical hangar. A spokesperson for airport operator Fraport confirmed there was no disruption to flight operations on Friday.

Investigation underway

Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) started work on Thursday and inspectors examined the site on Friday.

“We are investigating and there are no results yet.”

A preliminary report is forecast in about eight weeks, while a final determination may take roughly a year. Lufthansa has said it is cooperating fully with the inquiry.

A known risk

Aviation consultant Xavier Tytelman noted a nearly identical incident on 18 June 2021 at London Heathrow. A British Airways Boeing 787-8 saw its nose gear retract during ground preparations for a cargo flight. The subsequent probe pointed to a maintenance error.

“In June 2021 we had exactly the same precedent, with a British Airways 787 whose gear also retracted. The investigation concluded that maintenance had been poorly performed, and specifically that the pin that confirms the landing gear lock was not replaced in the correct position after maintenance.”

Whether a similar mistake occurred in Frankfurt remains to be determined.

The fleet and the aircraft

Lufthansa’s 787-9, registration not disclosed, was delivered by Boeing in January 2026 and entered service in February. The carrier uses the fuel-efficient Dreamliner to replace older wide-body jets and currently has 17 in its fleet. The damaged aircraft will be repaired once the investigation is complete; French sources estimated the cost at several million euros.