Jumbo jet collapses on nose at Frankfurt

FRANKFURT - A Lufthansa AG jumbo jet collapsed on its nose at Frankfurt airport when the front landing gear gave way as it was preparing to fly to New Delhi, an airline spokesman said today.

The 242 passengers and 16 crew members on board the Boeing 747-400 had to abandon the plane after the nose sank down onto a waiting tow truck.

"No one was injured. Everyone was able to leave the aircraft via the passenger bridge," the spokesman said.

The passengers were being put up in Frankfurt hotels and were due to take a different flight to New Delhi later tonight. The original flight -- LH760 -- had been due for takeoff at 11.50pm Monday NZT.

"The cause of the fall is not yet known. It's very unusual," said the spokesman.

The plane was relatively new and had been delivered to Lufthansa in December 2001.

The spokesman added that the incident had been reported to German air accident investigators.

Boeing spokespeople in Berlin and Brussels were not immediately reachable for comment.

- REUTERS