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FedEx Boeing 767 lands without front landing gear

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Pilot and crew evacuated, no casualties reported

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Boeing ( BA ) facing mounting pressure amid 737 MAX crisis

(Adds FedEx comment in paragraphs 6-7)

ISTANBUL, May 8 (Reuters) - A FedEx Airlines Boeing 767

cargo plane landed at Istanbul Airport on Wednesday

without deploying its front landing gear but managed to stay on

the runway and avoided casualties, Turkey's transport ministry

said.

The aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport,

informed the control tower at Istanbul Airport that its landing

gear had failed to open, and landed with guidance from the

tower, the ministry said in its statement.

Airport rescue and fire fighting teams were scrambled before

landing, but no one was injured. The ministry gave no reason for

the failure.

The aircraft involved is a nearly 10-year-old Boeing 767

freighter, one of the most common cargo planes and based on the

767 passenger model dating back to the 1980s.

FedEx ( FDX ) said in a statement it was coordinating with

investigation authorities and would "provide additional

information as it is available".

Video footage obtained by Reuters showed sparks flying and

some smoke as the front of the plane scraped along the runway

before coming to a halt and being doused with firefighting foam.

The runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but other

runways at the airport were still operating normally, the

airport operator IGA said.

Manufacturers are not typically involved in the

operation or maintenance of jets once they enter service, but

Boeing ( BA ) has been under intense media and regulatory scrutiny

following a series of incidents on its smaller 737.

The U.S. planemaker could not immediately be reached for

comment.