Two airport security employees in Hong Kong lost their lives in the early hours of Monday when a cargo aircraft from Dubai veered off the runway upon landing, striking their security patrol vehicle and pushing it into the sea, according to the city’s airport authority.
The Boeing 747 involved in the city’s most fatal airport incident in over 25 years also ended up in the water, partly submerged, while all four crew members onboard managed to escape unharmed.
Upon rescue from the water, the airport security personnel were found unresponsive, with one confirmed deceased at the scene and the other succumbing later at a hospital, as stated by Steven Yiu, the executive director of airport operations at Airport Authority Hong Kong.
The mishap at the world’s busiest cargo airport involved a plane operated by Turkish freight carrier ACT Airlines on behalf of Emirates, the Dubai-based airline confirmed in a statement.
Investigations into the precise cause of the crash are ongoing, with factors such as weather conditions, runway conditions, the aircraft itself, and the aircrew all being scrutinized, Yiu mentioned.
The incident occurred around 3:50 a.m. local time on Monday.
According to Man Ka-chai, chief accident and safety investigator for Hong Kong’s Air Accident Investigation Authority, air traffic control had instructed the flight to land on the north runway, but no distress call was received from the pilot.
Yiu clarified that the security patrol car was patrolling the north runway along a road outside the runway fence within its designated area and was not speeding onto the runway. The aircraft unexpectedly veered left after landing on the runway, leading to the collision with the car.
Airport operations at Hong Kong’s airport have not been disrupted, with Yiu assuring that the northern runway, where the incident occurred, would reopen post safety inspections.
Emirates reported that flight EK9788, a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft wet-leased from and operated by ACT Airlines, sustained damage upon landing in Hong Kong but confirmed the safety of the crew and the absence of cargo onboard.
Boeing and ACT Airlines have not yet provided comments in response to the incident.
This tragedy marks the deadliest airport accident in Hong Kong since 1999 when a China Airlines flight crashed during landing, resulting in the loss of three lives out of the 315 individuals onboard, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.