A Kuwait Airways passenger plane bound for the Philippines has crashed shortly before its scheduled take-off, the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.
The aircraft, carrying 284 passengers, experienced a problem with its braking system at 4.24am on Friday while being moved on the tarmac at Kuwait International Airport, Abdullah Al Rajhi, spokesman for the Kuwait Public Authority for Civil Aviation was quoted as saying.
Mr Al Rajhi said all passengers and crew of flight KU417 were unharmed, while the plane’s fuselage was damaged.
Photographs posted to social media aviation accounts showed the passenger plane, widely reported to be a Boeing 777, had crashed into a wire fence and post.
Passengers were transferred to another aircraft and this left the airport for its destination at 12.20pm.
Mr Al Rajhi said all technical examinations of the incident had been carried out. He added the safety of passengers and flight crews remains a top priority for both the aviation authority and Kuwait Airways, and that such incidents are managed under the highest international safety standards.
No more details of the incident have been released.
