The crew of a Cargolux 747 had to go around after their freighter suffered an engine pod strike while landing, which was captured on video.
This incident happened on Saturday the 15th of April. It involved a flight with ICAO callsign CLX5BP. Some sources list its flight number as CV7545, however, this currently seems unclear (a different 747 flew this route on the 15th). The flight departed from Dubai World Central International (Al Maktoum, OMDW) in the UAE, at 2:20 PM local time. Its destination was the airline’s base at Luxembourg Findel Airport (ELLX).
The flight’s departure (from runway 30 in Dubai), its climb, and cruise to its destination appear to have been uneventful. In Luxemburg, the crew set up an approach on runway 06. The engine pod strike happened after the Cargolux 747 made its first touchdown. It appears that the aircraft bounced, then rolled to the left.
Cargolux Engine Pod Strike – Aftermath
Following a second touchdown, the aircraft then began to climb, as the crew initiated a go-around. The crew of the Cargolux 747 made a second approach and a successful landing approximately 14 minutes after their pod strike. Subsequent photos show damage to the No2 (inboard) engine of the 747.
Cargolux Boeing 747-400F (built 2009) sustained minor damage to its left outer engine casing during an abnormal landing at runway 06 at Luxemburg AP (ELLX) forcing the pilots to initiate a go-around. Flight #CLX5BP from Dubai landed safely on its 2nd attempt.… pic.twitter.com/XJEgBPTxIP
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) April 16, 2023
It is not clear if the No1 (outboard) engine of the Cargolux widebody also suffered a pod strike. Such damage on the inboard engine only is possible, but somewhat rare. Either way, there were no injuries in this incident, with the crew subsequently taxiing normally to a cargo stand. As of this writing, the aircraft is still on the ground in Luxembourg.
The aircraft involved in this engine pod strike is a Cargolux 747-400F (ERF), with tail number LX-ECV. Boeing initially built this fourteen-year-old jet for LoadAir Cargo, a Kuwaiti startup that never managed to launch operations. So this 747 first flew in March 2009, but Boeing then had to send it to storage. Cargolux picked it up in 2013 and initially operated it with a partial livery. It got the typical Cargolux colors in 2021.
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