Two dead after cargo plane skids off Hong Kong runway into sea

A cargo plane skidded off a runway at Hong Kong International Airport and landed in the sea early on Monday, killing two ground staff.

Emirates flight EK9788 was arriving from Dubai at about 03:50 local time (19:50 GMT) when it veered off the runway and collided with an airport patrol vehicle.

The two people inside the vehicle died, while the four crew members onboard the plane survived the crash.

It marks one of Hong Kong’s deadliest aviation incidents in years – the city’s international airport has had a good safety record.

Authorities have launched an investigation as questions remain over the path taken by the plane upon landing.

Airport officials have said they gave the correct instructions to the plane and that there are signs on the runway to guide aircraft.

Airport operations executive director Steven Yiu said the patrol car was, at the time, travelling on a road outside of the runway’s fencing “at a safe distance from the runway”.

The plane then turned away from the runway, crashed through the fencing and collided with the vehicle, pushing it into the sea, Mr Yiu explained.

He stressed that the car “definitely did not run out onto the runway”.

“Normally the plane is not supposed to turn towards the sea,” he said at a news conference hours after the incident, adding that the plane did not send out a distress signal when it was landing.

Divers managed to locate the bodies of the patrol vehicle occupants in the sea.

The two dead ground staff were aged 30 and 41 and had seven and 12 years’ experience respectively, officials said.

Hong Kong’s transport bureau has said it was “saddened” by their deaths and expressed condolences to their families.

In a statement to the BBC, an Emirates spokesperson said the plane “sustained damage on landing in Hong Kong”, adding: “Crew are confirmed to be safe and there was no cargo onboard.”

It also said the Boeing 747-481 cargo aircraft was wet leased from, and operated by, Turkish carrier Act Airlines. A wet lease is an arrangement where one airline provides the aircraft, crew, and insurance to another airline.

The four crew members onboard the plane had opened the emergency doors of the aircraft shortly after the crash. They were spotted by fire service staff who arrived at the scene within two minutes, and were rescued, authorities said.

Pictures show the plane had broken in half, with part of the fuselage submerged in the water with large cracks clearly visible.

At least one emergency evacuation slide deployed successfully.

A police official told the media that criminal investigations would not be ruled out.

An official from the Hong Kong Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said they were still trying to locate the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – also known as the black boxes – from the sea.

The affected runway would remain closed for the rest of the day, but the airport’s other two runways are still in operation.

At least 11 cargo flights initially scheduled to arrive at Hong Kong International Airport on Monday have been cancelled, according to the Airport Authority’s website.

It marks the second ever deadly incident at the airport since it moved from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok in July 1998.

In August 1999, a China Airlines passenger flight crash landed during a typhoon, killing three people.