A FedEx Airbus A300-600F suffered a nose landing gear collapse while parked outside a maintenance hangar at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), prompting a response from airport fire and rescue crews but causing no injuries.
The incident occurred on February 4, 2026, while the aircraft was undergoing maintenance and was not in operation, according to statements from airport officials and FedEx. Images from the scene show the freighter resting on its forward fuselage on the cargo apron adjacent to hangar facilities.
A spokesperson for FedEx confirmed the event, saying the company was “aware of an incident involving one of our parked aircraft undergoing maintenance in Baltimore,” and emphasized that no employees were injured. The company also thanked first responders for their quick response.
The aircraft involved is an Airbus A300-600F registered N682FE, a widebody freighter that is part of FedEx’s medium-haul cargo fleet. The jet was stationary at the time of the collapse, which damaged the nose gear, gear door, and the lower forward fuselage skin. Maryland Aviation Administration officials said the incident did not disrupt commercial operations at BWI, as it occurred within a restricted cargo area.
The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to examine the aircraft as part of a standard assessment to determine what caused the nose gear to fail. No preliminary findings have been released, and there has been no indication of a broader safety issue related to the A300 fleet.
Nose gear collapses during maintenance are uncommon but can occur if landing gear safety pins are not installed or if hydraulic systems are inadvertently pressurized while an aircraft is on the ground.
FedEx continues to operate a fleet of Airbus A300-600 freighters that entered service in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While the aircraft type has a long record as a reliable cargo workhorse, many airframes are now approaching three decades in service and require increasingly intensive inspections and maintenance.
source
