Tragedy at Hong Kong Airport: Cargo plane plunges into sea after runaway skid

An Emirates Boeing 747 cargo plane skidded off a runway, lost control and skidded off the runway in Hong Kong International Airport after hitting an airport security vehicle on Monday, October 20.

The tragic incident took the lives of two ground personnel in the deadliest aviation accident in Hong Kong within the last 25 years.

It was an Emirates flight EK9788 operating out of Dubai though wet-leased by ACT Airlines of Turkey, landing at approximately 3:50 a.m. local time.

The four crew on the board were safe and the two security personnel in the vehicle were rescued safely but one was not breathing and the other was declared dead.

The inquiry in the case has already shifted to the question why the plane suddenly departed the course.

The pilot did not complain about any technical problems and sought emergency help before landing on the designated north runway, it was confirmed by the authorities.

Steven Yiu, the Executive Director of Airport Operations said that the aircraft “unexpectedly left the landing runway and struck the car, which was not a normal path.”

He categorically verified that the security patrol car was making a routine patrol on the road outside the runway fence and “certainly did not rush onto the runway.”

These notable details directs the investigation to possible causes, which may be the handling of the aircraft during landing, runway conditions, and external conditions such as weather.

The incident has cast the spotlight on the age of the unfortunate aircraft as the flight tracking data reflects that the aircraft is 32-year-old and was originally a passenger jet.

A portion of the north runway was closed to facilitate inspection however there was no significant impact on the flight operations that were going on in the world busiest cargo airport through the other two runways. The crash is the most severe accident that occurred in the Hong Kong airport since 1999.