Missing locking pin left in toolbox as Lufthansa Boeing 787 nose-dives at Frankfurt, injuring 23

What the interim report found

German federal investigators have published their first interim report on the 4 June accident in which a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 collapsed onto its nose at Frankfurt Airport. The Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU) states that the nose landing gear downlock pin was not inserted in its designated bore before a maintenance test was carried out. Instead, the pin was later recovered from a storage box in the forward cargo hold. The report explicitly leaves open whether the missing pin caused the gear to retract, noting that the full analysis will appear only in the final report, expected in about a year.

The aircraft, registered as flight LH450, was being prepared for a long-haul service to Los Angeles at parking position A15 outside Terminal 1. No passengers were on board, but 13 crew members and 13 ground-handling staff were inside the jet, with six more people immediately outside. When the nose gear retracted, the forward fuselage and both engine cowlings struck the concrete apron. The impact cut electrical power, extinguished the cabin lights and slammed the cockpit door shut.

Das Luftfahrzeug prallte mit dem Bug sowie beiden Triebwerksverkleidungen auf dem Betonboden auf.

Injury count revised sharply upward

Lufthansa initially reported five injuries. The BFU interim report corrects that figure to 23: two people sustained serious injuries and 21 were lightly hurt. The discrepancy has drawn attention in German media, with several outlets leading on the revised casualty number alongside the technical finding.

The maintenance sequence

Two certified technicians were seated in the cockpit on the second day of their early shift, which began at 06:00. They had been called to resolve an outstanding defect in the control of the main landing-gear doors. According to the BFU, the problem could not be fixed in advance by electricians "due to time constraints." One technician read aloud the procedures from Boeing's Fault Isolation Manual displayed on a tablet, while the other carried out the instructions. The procedure required moving the landing-gear lever to the UP position.

The manual explicitly states that the landing-gear downlock pins must be installed before the lever is moved, and includes an illustration showing correct insertion of the nose-gear pin. The BFU notes that both technicians held all required certifications.

Aus Zeitmangel konnte das Problem nicht vorab von Elektrikern behoben werden.

Damage and aircraft history

The BFU describes the Dreamliner as "schwer beschädigt" (heavily damaged). The nose section and the nose-gear box suffered severe structural harm, and the forward cargo-door mechanism was bent. The aircraft had been delivered in early 2026 and had completed only 137 flights before the accident.

Parallels and next steps

The BFU report draws a parallel to a 2021 incident involving a British Airways Boeing 787-8, in which the nose gear also collapsed after a downlock pin was inserted in the wrong location. Investigators stress that the current inquiry is not yet complete and that human, technical and organisational factors still need to be examined. The final report will assign causes and may issue safety recommendations. The BFU reiterates that its investigation serves solely to prevent future accidents and does not apportion blame or liability.

Die Untersuchung des Unfalls sei noch nicht abgeschlossen.