Plane Problems Prompt U.S. Cancellations

Seattle-Based Horizon Air Cancels 100 Flights After European Crash Landings

(CBS/AP)  A regional airline based in Seattle cancelled more than 100 flights Wednesday to inspect planes that have been ordered grounded by their Canadian manufacturer over fears the landing gear could be defective.

The move by Horizon Air came after a turboprop plane carrying 52 people skidded off the runway and smashed one wing into the ground after its right-side landing gear failed to lower during an emergency landing early Wednesday in Lithuania.

No one was injured in the accident, which occurred just three days after the same type of Scandinavian Airlines aircraft crash-landed because of a similar problem in Denmark, leaving five people with minor injuries.

Canadian aircraft-maker Bombardier recommended that all Q400 turboprop planes that had made more than 10,000 flights be grounded for inspections. The company said the recommendation affected about 60 planes.

"They'll be looking for corrosion and metal fatigue, that's the sort of thing they'll be looking for here, and when they find out what the problem is they'll replace the components and they'll be back with a very good, very safe airplane again," David Learmount, an aviation expert with Flight Global told CBS News.

Horizon decided to ground and inspect 19 of its Q400s, but it wasn't clear whether those aircraft had flown more than 10,000 flights, or if there were more of the planes in their fleet.

The airline said the checks were a precaution, involving planes with higher flight hours. Horizon says it has not had any problems like the ones in Europe.

In the U.K., the British Broadcasting Corporation reported Wednesday that regional carrier FlyBe had grounded six of its Q400s for inspection.

The Q400 seats about 75 passengers.

Horizon serves 48 cities throughout California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and British Columbia and Alberta.

In the second incident, the pilots attempted to land the plane at Vilnius airport on its front and left landing gear when the right set of wheels failed to lower, authorities said.

The crew made all passengers sit on the left side of the plane for fear that the right propeller might break into pieces and puncture the right side of the cabin, said Kestutis Auryla, head of the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration.

Though the right propeller was switched off 10 seconds before touchdown, the right wing still hit the ground, causing a shower of sparks but no fire, he said.

The Q400 turboprop eventually came to a stop in a patch of grass next to the airport's main landing strip after turning 90 degrees. All 48 passengers and four crew were evacuated safely, he said.

"The pilots observed all procedures required for an emergency landing," Auryla said.

The extent of damage to the plane was not clear.

A similar Scandinavian Airlines, or SAS, turboprop carrying 73 people caught fire Sunday after its right landing gear collapsed during an emergency landing at Aalborg's airport in western Denmark. Five people were hurt during the evacuation there.

At the time, SAS decided to keep all other turboprops in service because it said the failure had never occurred before.

After the second incident, however, the company announced that it had grounded the 27 Q400 turboprobs flying for SAS and its Norwegian subsidiary Wideroe.

The Austrian Airlines Group said it has temporarily grounded eight Bombardier turboprop planes.

Bombardier recommended that all Q400 turboprops that have accumulated more than 10,000 landing-gear cycles - comprising one takeoff and one landing - be grounded for landing gear inspections.

"Bombardier has delivered more than 160 Q400 aircraft to airlines around the world, of these there are currently about 60 Q400 aircraft with more than 10,000 landing-gear cycles," the company said in a statement.

It said it had dispatched a representative to assist Lithuanian authorities, adding that until the investigation has concluded, "Bombardier cannot speculate or comment as to the cause of these incidents."

The plane in Vilnius had taken off from Copenhagen's international airport for a short flight across the Baltic Sea to Palanga, a resort town in western Lithuania. The pilots noticed a failure in the landing gear during the flight and decided to land at Vilnius airport because the runway there is longer and wider.

"All passengers were successfully evacuated," Auryla said, adding that Lithuanian and Danish authorities were investigating the cause of the accident.

The incident blocked traffic at Vilnius airport for several hours.

After grounding its turboprops, SAS, the joint flag carrier of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, was forced to cancel more than 100 flights Wednesday, mostly in northern Europe.