A cargo aircraft skidded off the runway into the sea at Hong Kong International Airport early yesterday, killing two ground crew in a patrol car, in one of the worst accidents in the airport’s 27-year history.
The incident occurred at about 3:50am, when the plane is suspected to have lost control upon landing, veering off the runway and crashing through a fence, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said.
The jet hit a security patrol car on the perimeter road outside the runway zone, which then fell into the water, it said in a statement.
Photo: EPA
The four crew members on the plane, which was operated by Turkey’s AirACT on behalf of Emirates Airlines, were rescued and taken to the hospital.
At a briefing held hours after the incident, the Airport Authority said the weather and runway conditions were suitable for flight operations at the time of the accident. The plane had not sent any distress signal, officials said.
Hong Kong’s Air Accident Investigation Authority is investigating the cause of the crash and is searching for the plane’s black boxes, including the flight data recorder and cabin recorder.
Photo: AFP
Police said they would not rule out launching a criminal investigation.
Helicopters from the Government Flying Service and vessels from the Fire Services Department have been deployed, media reports said.
One of the three runways at the airport — one of the busiest in Asia — has been closed, although the Airport Authority said the more than 1,000 flight movements scheduled for yesterday would operate as normal.
An official notice to pilots said the runway was expected to remain closed until at least 6pm today.
In a statement, Emirates said the aircraft was wet leased from, and operated by, Act Airlines. The crew are confirmed to be safe and there was no cargo onboard.
In wet leases, the company supplying the plane also provides the crew and maintenance to the airline client.
The 32-year-old plane had taken off from Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, with flight code EK9788.
Images of the stricken jet at Hong Kong airport show the plane partially submerged, with its rear section, including the tailfin, missing.
A large section of the plane rested on the seawall. Both of the plane’s emergency slides were deployed.
The accident marks one of the most serious at the airport. In 1999, three people died when a China Airlines flight crashed while landing during a typhoon and flipped upside down.
Yesterday’s incident echoes another China Airlines accident at the old Kai Tak Airport, when a 747 overran the runway during typhoon conditions.
The jet was submerged in water beyond the end of the runway, with about two dozen passengers and crew injured.
Additional reporting by AFP
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