Lufthansa Boeing 787 Damaged In Frankfurt

A Lufthansa Boeing 787 Dreamliner has suffered a nose landing gear collapse while parked at the gate in Frankfurt, causing significant damage to the relatively new widebody.

The aircraft was being prepared for what was intended to be a normal service as LH450 from Frankfurt through to Los Angeles when the incident occurred around 1245 local time on Thursday, 4 June 2026.

What Happened To The Aircraft

According to the airline and Frankfurt Airport, the Boeing 787-9 operated by Lufthansa was stationary at the terminal gate when, according to video evidence, the nose gear unexpectedly retracted, causing the front of the aircraft to drop rapidly onto the apron.

That drop occurred while the aircraft was also still attached to the jet bridge. The airline confirmed that crew members and ground personnel were on board at the time, with passengers not yet boarding.

LH450 was cancelled after the airline assessed the serious damage to the aircraft, which had 13 crew members aboard. After the collapse, the plane was taken out of service for inspection and repairs.

As part of the inspections, an investigation will be conducted to determine why the nose gear suddenly collapsed on this Boeing 787 while it was parked at Terminal 1 in Frankfurt.

A Brand New Lufthansa 787

The aircraft involved in the incident is D-ABPQ, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, part of the airline’s more recent deliveries, with the jet kitted out in the new All-Aires cabin aimed at boosting the premium image across the network.

However, this aircraft is not just part of the new batch but one of the newest aircraft delivered to the airline, having first flown in April 2025 due to sweeping delays in the Allegris rollout and certification issues. The jet entered service only in February 2026, following its January 2026 delivery.

With substantial damage now indicated and a focus on the structural and systems impacts observed across the nose area, the job of getting the aircraft prepped again for re-entry into service will be significant, especially as investigations begin.

Now What Happens?

Following the incident, the paramount concern was that the crew aboard the aircraft and those around the plane were not severely injured. Once this was cleared, Lufthansa was then able to safely secure the 787-9 and assess what had happened.

The flag-carrier will now work closely with German authorities, alongside its own internal investigation, to determine the cause of the nose gear failure, as it is too early to provide a technical explanation.

Naturally, industry speculation draws parallels with the past, citing next-generation aircraft like the 787, in which, in the case of a British Airways jet that experienced something similar, an incorrectly inserted safety pin caused the nose gear to retract during ground checks.

These theories are speculation; nothing has yet been determined as the catalyst for the nose gear collapse, and that is the job of investigators and the airline to determine the findings and understand what transpired. Those learnings are then taken to ensure that either a fix can be implemented or that such an incident doesn’t happen again.

With a Boeing 787 taken out of service, Lufthansa, which has been struggling with capacity constraints throughout the 2020s due to aircraft delivery delays, will be down one widebody. While the business has a strong widebody fleet, these next-generation jets are the future, and either delays or unforeseen events like this do have a negative impact.