Hong Kong cargo plane skids off runway, two airport staff killed

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HONG KONG: Two airport security staff were killed early Monday when a cargo plane from Dubai skidded off the runway on landing, hitting their patrol vehicle and pushing it into the sea, the airport operator said.

The Boeing 747 also ended up in the water and partially submerged, but all four crew members escaped. It is the deadliest airport incident in the financial center in more than 25 years.

Both guards were pulled from the water without breathing. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was pronounced dead at the hospital, said Steven Yeo, executive director of airport operations at the Airport Authority of Hong Kong.

The crash at the world’s busiest cargo airport involved a plane operated by Emirates on behalf of Turkish freight carrier Akt Airlines, the Dubai-based airline said in a statement.

Yeo said authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the crash, with weather, runway conditions, the aircraft and the aircraft part of the investigation.

The accident happened at 3:50 a.m. Hong Kong time on Monday (Sunday 1950 GMT).

Air traffic control recordings available on LiveATC.NET reviewed by Reuters indicated the cargo plane’s pilot had confirmed plans to land on runway 07L where the crash occurred, but he did not report any technical problems on the recording.

“There’s just been an incident at the airfield,” a female controller said a few minutes later.

Chief accident and safety investigator Man Ka Chai of Hong Kong’s Air Accidents Investigation Authority confirmed that air traffic control had directed the flight to land on the north runway, but added: “We did not receive any message from the pilot requesting assistance.”

Yeo said the security patrol car was in charge of patrolling the north runway, which was outside the runway fence. He said it was operating in its normal area and “definitely didn’t rush down the runway.”

He said the plane suddenly veered to the left after landing on the runway before hitting the car, which was “not a normal course”.

Airport flights are not affected

Yeo said flights at Hong Kong’s airport were not affected, adding that the north runway at the world’s busiest cargo airport, where the incident occurred, would reopen after safety inspections were completed.

The authority said that the southern and central runways are functioning normally.

Photos taken after the crash showed a cargo plane with a partially submerged slide deployed in the water near the airport’s seawall and the nose and tail sections separated.

Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said in a statement on Monday that the plane “deviated from the northern runway after landing and plunged into the sea.”

Emirates said Flight EK9788 was damaged on landing in Hong Kong on Monday and was a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft on wet lease by Act Airlines.

“The crew has been confirmed safe and there was no baggage on board,” Emirates said.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Akt Airlines is a Turkish carrier that provides additional cargo capacity to major airlines. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

Flightradar24, a flight tracking service, said the planes involved in the crash were 32 years old and had served as passenger planes before being converted into cargo planes.

Yeo said the airport authority would provide all necessary support and assistance to the families, adding that the two slain staff had worked at the airport for seven and 12 years respectively.

It was the deadliest airport accident in Hong Kong since a China Airlines flight crashed on landing in 1999, killing three of the 315 people on board.