A cargo aircraft crashed into the sea after skidding off a runway at Hong Kong International Airport early Monday, killing two ground personnel and prompting an immediate safety investigation at one of Asia’s busiest aviation hubs.
The incident occurred when an Emirates Boeing 747 cargo plane, flight EK9788, arriving from Dubai around 3:50 a.m. local time, veered off the runway shortly after landing. The aircraft broke through the airport’s perimeter fencing and collided with a patrol vehicle, pushing it into the sea. The two occupants of the vehicle were killed instantly.
Airport officials confirmed that all four crew members aboard the cargo aircraft survived and were evacuated safely. Emergency responders reached the crash site within minutes, as images from the scene showed the plane’s fuselage partially submerged in water with visible damage to its structure and the tail section jutting out above the surface.
Authorities said no distress call was received from the aircraft before it went off course. A transport official noted that the patrol vehicle had been operating in a designated safe area outside the runway perimeter when the plane veered unexpectedly. “Normally, the aircraft would remain on the centerline and never approach the sea boundary,” an airport operations executive said during a briefing.
One runway at the airport was closed temporarily as investigators worked to retrieve the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder — commonly known as the “black boxes.” Eleven scheduled cargo flights were cancelled due to the disruption.
The victims were identified as male ground staff members aged 30 and 41, both long-serving employees of the airport’s logistics department with seven and twelve years of service, respectively. Authorities expressed condolences to the victims’ families and said counselling services would be provided to colleagues and witnesses.
The Hong Kong Transport Bureau said a full investigation is under way to determine whether the crash was caused by pilot error, mechanical failure, or environmental factors such as wind shear. Officials added that no criminal cause has been ruled out at this stage.
The incident is one of the most serious aviation accidents in Hong Kong in more than two decades. The airport, which has maintained a strong international safety record since opening at Chek Lap Kok in 1998, last recorded a fatal aviation incident in 1999, when a passenger aircraft crashed during a typhoon, killing three people.
Aviation safety experts said the investigation’s findings could have broader implications for runway safety and emergency preparedness at major international airports. Preliminary reports are expected within two weeks, though a full report could take several months.
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