SAS plane crashlands in Denmark, no serious injuries

COPENHAGEN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The landing gear of an SAS turboprop plane collapsed upon landing in Copenhagen today, Danish media said, but no serious injuries were reported.

News agency Ritzau quoted Copenhagen police as saying no passengers had been seriously injured when the right main landing gear of the Q400 plane collapsed.

SAS and airport officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ritzau said one of two runways at Kastrup airport had been closed after the accident which took place around 2030 hrs IST.

The Scandinavian airline last month grounded its entire fleet of 27 Q400 planes, built by Canada's Bombardier, after two crash landings, one in Lithuania on Sept 12 and one in Denmark on Sept. 9.

Both incidents involved problems with the planes' landing gear, but no one was seriously hurt.

The plane is designed for regional services and carries up to 78 passengers.

SAS, 50 per cent owned by the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, restarted Q400 flights this month after replacing part of the landing gear in its planes and wants compensation from Bombardier to cover the losses.

REUTERS PD AS2152