Overheated Undercarriage Clears Cabin

More than 330 passengers and crew members rushed for the exits on board a Pakistani Airlines 777 Tuesday, forced to evacuate by what appeared to be a fire in the aircraft's undercarriage.

Flight PK789 was on the ground in Manchester, England, when the incident occurred, during a refueling stop en route from Karachi, Pakistan to Toronto, Canada. As the 777 taxied from the runway to parking, the pilot of the aircraft taxiing behind it radioed ground control and reported smoke pouring out of the left landing gear.

"NATS (National Air Traffic Services) at Manchester reported an aircraft ground incident and by the time the fire brigade got to the plane, passengers were already being evacuated," said an unidentified spokeswoman for NATS. Firefighters rushed to the scene as 323 passengers and 12 crew members poured out of the aircraft.

Thirty-three of the evacuees were treated for minor injuries, according to the British Press Association. The airport was closed for about 15-minutes while firefighters made sure there was no danger to flight line operations.

Here's the odd part:

This was the fourth incident of overheating landing gear sustained by a Pakistani Airlines 777 over the past year -- three of them at Manchester.

The problem appears to be centered on Pakistani Air mechanics' use of the wrong grease to lubricate the undercarriage. The airline has started using a different kind of grease.

FMI: www.manairport.co.uk/web.nsf