Saudia aircraft landing gear catches fire in Pakistan

Fire broke out on the front landing gear of a Saudia plane in Pakistan, prompting passengers to evacuate using slides.

The incident occurred on an aircraft that had flown passengers from Riyadh to Peshawar, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement on Thursday. All 276 passengers and 21 crew were safely evacuated and fire services quickly extinguished the fire and prevented a major incident, according to the statement.

The aircraft, a seven year old Airbus A330-300, is now undergoing comprehensive inspections and subsequent tests to ensure its safety, Saudia said in response to questions from Bloomberg.