A third Q400 turboprop aircraft built by Canadian aerospace giant Bombardier has experienced a difficult landing after problems with its gear.

The Florence-bound plane came to rest on its nose after the front wheels failed to deploy during landing in Munich, Germany on Friday night. None of the 65 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight were injured.

A spokesperson for Bombardier told the Canadian Press that the pilot decided to return to Munich after trying several times to deploy the landing gear.

Friday's accident happened just over a week after Transport Canada issued a directive to Bombardier to have the landing gear on all 165 of its Q400 aircraft visually inspected. Eighty-five Q400 aircraft that had more than 8,000 flights required a more vigorous inspection.

The recommendation was made following two emergency landings in Europe involving planes with faulty landing gear.

A Scandinavian Airlines aircraft with 52 people aboard smashed its wing into the ground on Sept. 12, after its right-side landing gear collapsed while landing in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Three days earlier, five of 73 passengers aboard another Scandinavian Airlines flight were injured when the plane caught fire after its right-side landing gear collapsed as the plane touched down in Aalborg, Denmark.

Danish authorities said a preliminary investigation showed corrosion may have contributed to the gear failure.

Corrections and Clarifications

  • Transport Canada directed Bombardier to visually inspect the landing gear on all 165 of its Q400 aircraft, and 85 required a more vigorous inspection. The story originally reported that 60 aircraft required inspection. Sept. 24, 2007|7:15 p.m. ET
With files from the Canadian Press