It does not come often for a 400-ton airliner to suddenly veer off to the left halfway down the runway without warning, but this rare event occurred early Monday morning at Hong Kong International Airport. Catastrophic was the outcome: the airplane, a Boeing 747 cargo jet, flying as Emirates flight EK9788 and wet-leased by Turkish cargo airline ACT Airlines, crashed into an airport security patrol vehicle and sank into the sea, and both occupants of the patrol vehicle were killed.
The chain of events occurred just before 4 a.m., as the airplane, flying in from Dubai, landed onto the north runway of the airport. Visibility was “all conditions for runway operation,” say airport officials, and the security vehicle was “absolutely not near the runway” but going through the circuit of the perimeter off the fence. Nevertheless, halfway down the tarmac, the plane lurched violently to the left, broke through the perimeter fencing, and struck the patrol vehicle, lifting it into waters approximately seven meters deep.
Footage of the scene revealed the fuselage was submerged, the tail was separated, and the lower surface of the fuselage below the flight deck was damaged. An emergency slide was deployed and all four crew were evacuated successfully. Refitted to the freighter configuration and being 30-odd years old, the airplane was not loaded. Interestingly, the aircraft failed to broadcast an emergency signal and failed to respond to radio calls while the event occurred, something the investigators, once they receive the black box data, would be keen to examine.
Technically, the sudden loss of heading raises significant questions concerning the safety systems and landing capabilities of the Boeing 747. The 747 possesses redundant systems of hydraulic steering, braking, and thrust reversers, along with runway excursion prevention technologies by way of real-time feedback of inertial reference units and flight control processors. An unintended, sudden turn might be the consequence of failure of an applicable system, pilot input misunderstanding, or an external factor like asymmetric application of brakes or thrust.
Runway excursions the departure of an aircraft from the pavement surface upon takeoff or landing are the best studied modes of accidents by the discipline of aviation safety. Its prevention mechanisms include the increased runway surface friction measurement, engine and wheel anti-skid systems, and situation awareness tools of the cockpit integrating GPS-based position data and airport geometry. In the present incident, the breakdown of the emergency transmission indicates either the deviation developed too rapidly for communication, or that the crew’s attention was fully focused on the emerging hazard.
The collision with the patrol car underscores another layer of operational risk: the interface between aircraft movement areas and airport perimeter security operations. Patrol vehicles typically operate under strict protocols, including GPS tracking, designated patrol routes, and radio coordination with airside operations control. The fact that the car was outside the runway fence yet still struck by the aircraft points to the sheer kinetic reach of a heavy jet leaving the runway at landing speed often in excess of 150 knots combined with insufficient physical separation between the active runway and perimeter patrol zones.
Rescue operations were on an large scale, and they incorporated the deployment of over 200 personnel. Divers rescued the two security personnel from the submerged vehicle about five meters off the shore, an operation which lasted about 40 minutes. The fragmentation of the airplane into two sections complicated salvage, as the debris floating in shallow waters might pose risks to divers and salvage personnel. For safety-evaluation, the north runway was closed, but the airport’s two runways were available for use, ensuring minimal disruption of passenger movement.
This accident marks only the second fatal crash of the Hong Kong International Airport, which opened in 1998, the first having been China Airlines’ 1999 typhoon-related accident. With the airport holding the position of the globe’s busiest cargo center, the inquiry would not only entail the mechanical and operational aspects of the 747’s excursions but also developing the combination of perimeter security procedures and runway safety protocol so as to eliminate future collisions of this type.
