Emirates Flight EK521 Crash-Lands in Dubai; All 300 Onboard Survive, Firefighter Killed
An Emirates Boeing 777 operating Flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram, India, to Dubai crash-landed at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday, August 3, 2016. All 300 people on board survived. One firefighter died while responding to the fire that followed.
Emirates Chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the 282 passengers and 18 crew members were safely accounted for. Ten people were hospitalized. The aircraft touched down around 12:45 p.m. local time and came to rest on the runway engulfed in flames. Social media images showed thick smoke rising from the site.
Passenger Iype Vallikadan told the Associated Press that the pilot announced a landing-gear problem on approach and that an emergency landing would be made. After the aircraft stopped, cabin crew opened all emergency exits. Evacuation was completed within minutes, before a later explosion in the center wing tank intensified the fire.
The airline later noted possible wind shear, a sudden change in wind speed or direction, during the descent, but said it was unclear whether that factor caused the accident. Investigators later established that the crew attempted a go-around after a long landing; the aircraft then struck the runway again and caught fire.
Passengers included 226 Indian nationals, 24 from Britain, 11 from the United Arab Emirates, six each from the United States and Saudi Arabia, five from Turkey, and four from Ireland. Two each came from Australia, Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, and Thailand. Single passengers represented Croatia, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, the Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, and Tunisia.
Boeing said a technical team stood ready to support the investigation with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Saif Mohamed Al Suwaidi, director general of Dubai’s General Civil Aviation Authority, said an investigation team had been activated with Emirates and the airport. “Our primary concern at this moment is the safety and well-being of all passengers and cabin crew,” he stated.
Founded in 1985, Emirates had a strong safety record before the accident, its first hull loss. Dubai International Airport, the region’s busiest, handled 78 million passengers the previous year. Other flights were delayed by about six hours; operations resumed shortly before 7 p.m. local time.
The aircraft, registered A6-EMW, was destroyed by impact and fire. All occupants escaped via slides. The firefighter who died was later identified as Jasim Eissa al-Baloushi of Ras Al Khaimah. Officials praised his actions during the rescue.
The General Civil Aviation Authority later issued a full accident report examining the go-around attempt, autothrottle behavior after touchdown, and crew actions. The event remains a significant case study in long-landing and rejected-landing procedures.
