KAGOSHIMA (Kyodo) A cockpit lever on a Japan Air Commuter plane snapped suddenly on Saturday when the captain pulled it to retract the landing gear shortly after taking off from Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture.
All 74 passengers and crew members arrived safely at Kagoshima Airport roughly half an hour after the incident occurred on the Bombardier DHC8-Q400 at around 9:40 a.m.
An emergency system was applied manually for the landing at Kagoshima. The airline said it has replaced the lever with a new one and the plane's next flight schedule will be unaffected.
A transport ministry official said such defects are seldom seen.