An Emirates cargo plane crashed into a ground handling vehicle on landing in Hong Kong. Two airport staff were killed, the crew survived. The causes of the incident are being investigated.
The Boeing 747-481, operating flight EK9788 from Dubai, failed to stop on the runway. The aircraft smashed through a fence, collided with a patrol car and rolled with it into the sea.
Two ground support workers, aged 30 and 41, died on the spot.
All four crew members survived: they opened the emergency exits and rescuers, who arrived in less than two minutes, helped them out.
Images from the site show that the board broke in half, part of the fuselage went under water. One emergency ladder definitely worked.
“Black boxes” have not yet been found, said the Hong Kong investigation department seam off course during landing.
What Hong Kong airport says
The airport emphasises: the crew acted according to instructions and the runway had everything necessary for a safe landing.
Executive director of operations Stephen Yu assured that the ground handling vehicle was outside the runway area at the time of the incident – “at a safe distance”.
However, the aircraft rolled out of the boundary, broke through the fence and crashed into the car. Both cars flew into the sea.
Yu emphasised that the ground support vehicle “absolutely did not go onto the runway”.
The crew, he said, did not make a distress call during the landing.
Airline reaction
An Emirates spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that the aircraft was “damaged during the landing in Hong Kong”.
“The crew were safe, no cargo was on board.” )In August 1999, a China Airlines passenger plane made an emergency landing during a typhoon, killing three people.