Disaster averted at Jeddah airport

A major air disaster was averted yesterday when a Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus 300 crash-landed at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport after developing a technical glitch, Saudi aviation officials said. Khaled Al-Khaibary, spokesman for the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA), said the pilot radioed the control tower after the plane’s landing gear malfunctioned. An alert was declared immediately and arrangements were made for belly landing. The plane landed safely without incident. There were only 10 crew members on board the rented aircraft on its way from Madinah.