PHILIPSBURG – A problem with the nose wheel steering system has caused a delay and subsequently of KL729 on Suday, operated with an Airbus A330.

After landing, it turned out that the aircraft had a malfunction in the nose wheel control system, which caused it to remain standing at the end of the runway for some time. The plane’s breakdown also meant that the runway was closed to other air traffic for a good half hour.

After the problem initially seemed to have been solved, the plane was still preparing for departure, when it turned out that the defect had not been succesfully solved. That was the signal for KLM to cancel the flight all together.

Accomodated

There were 259 passengers and a total of 11 crew members on board the flight bound for Amsterdam. These were all returned to the airport terminal and later accommodated in different hotels by the handling agent in Sint Maarten.