An LATAM flight was forced to return to its departing airport and proceed to an emergency landing following a malfunction of the nose landing gear.  

The Airbus A320-200 aircraft, registered CC-BAS, was carrying out domestic flight LA4292 from Medellín-José María Córdova Airport (MDE) to Cartagena-Crespo Airport (CTG) in Colombia. 

Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew detected an issue with the nose landing gear. After notifying ATC, the aircraft returned to its departing airport to carry out an emergency landing. The airport fire and emergency department personnel were scrambled. 

After entering a holding pattern to burn enough fuel, the aircraft landed with its landing gear locked at a 90-degree angle. The tires blew and the gear scraped along the runway. “The landing was carried out in a controlled manner in safe conditions for the occupants of the aircraft and the personnel on the ground,” reported Aerocivil, the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia. 

Operations at José María Córdova Airport were suspended while the passengers were deplaned, and the aircraft was removed from the runway. No injuries among the crew or passengers were reported.

"LATAM Airlines Colombia is in contact with Civil Aeronautics to deliver all information required to start the investigation process into this incident," LATAM told AeroTime in a statement.