Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways has suddenly hit an airpocket. The carrier has been forced to ground its entire fleet of Bombardier planes after a Bombardier aircraft had to make an emergency landing with 60 people on board. Emergency landing had to be undertaken as the front landing gear on one failed to descend. The incident happened over Kochi airport in western Japan as the plane tried to extend its front wheels and negotiate an emergency landing.

A report said that no one was injured when the Bombardier DHC-8 turboprop landed on its rear wheels and then carefully touched its nose to a runway in western Japan. Another report said that sparks shot from the bottom of the white and blue fuselage as the plane skidded to a halt. However, the pilot managed to keep it on the tarmac, it added.

The accident has however come as blow to the Bombardier fleet. The mishap was the latest in a string of problems with All Nippon Airways’ fleet of Canadian-made Bombardier aircraft. In 2004, the right wheel of a Bombardier broke off while landing at Kochi airport, also with no injuries. In February 2006, another Bombardier plane operated by All Nippon Airways experienced landing gear problems. That pilot aborted an initial landing attempt after all three sets of wheels failed to deploy. Following the latest incident, All Nippon Airways annunced that it was grounding its fleet of 13 Bombardiers for inspection and wouldn't resume service until their safety had been confirmed.

Meanwhile, the cause of the failure is not yet known. An investigation has been launched.