BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) - An Iran Air plane made an
emergency landing in Beijing shortly after takeoff on Thursday
because of landing gear problems, an aviation official said.
"The landing gear was broken. We don't know when, but the
plane landed safely," an Air China official told Reuters.
Iran Air flight IR 800 stops in transit in Beijing from
Tehran en route to Tokyo. Its departure was around 9 a.m (0100
GMT).
Iran Air said it could not confirm if its plane was
involved.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China said earlier the
plane had landed "improperly". CAAC did not confirm the airline
or the country from where the plane was from.
Visibility was clear at the time.
Iran Air uses Boeing 747SPs on the route, according to the
company's Web site, a model that dates back to the 1970s.
Boeing delivered its last 747 to Iran Air in 1979,
according to the Web site
www.boeing.com, just before the
Islamic revolution after which the United States cut ties with
Iran.