Aircraft
MA-60s Grounded Following Landing Gear Failures
A Lao Airlines MA-60s taxis at Pakse Airport in Laos. (Photo: Christian Hanuise)
A Lao Airlines MA-60s taxis at Pakse Airport in Laos. (Photo: Christian Hanuise)

A new airworthiness directive issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has resulted in the grounding of 15 Xi’an Aircraft MA-60 turboprops following two incidents of landing gear failure. The directive requires operators inspect the undercarriages and gear annunciation systems of airplanes that have logged more than 6,400 takeoffs. Two Chinese airlines—Okay Airways and Joy Air—and carriers from the Philippines, Laos, Zimbabwe and Bolivia operate the 15 airplanes.