HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong on Tuesday reopened the runway the place a cargo plane crashed and plunged into the ocean the day past, however stated it will not be used usually till the wreckage was cleared.
The Boeing 747 flown by Turkey-based ACT Airways flight from Dubai skidded to the left after touchdown early Monday and collided with a patrol automobile, inflicting each the plane and the automobile to plunge into the ocean. Two employees within the automobile have been killed. The 4 crew members on the aircraft had no obvious accidents.
The U.S. Nationwide Transport Security Board was sending 5 investigators to Hong Kong to help the probe by the town’s air accident investigation authority, the U.S. company posted on X on late Tuesday.
Repairs to the runway and broken fencing have been accomplished, Steven Yiu, the airport authority’s government director for airport operations, advised Radio Tv Hong Kong. He added that that investigators had collected preliminary proof on the scene.
The aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder and the flight information recorder haven’t but been retrieved, Yiu stated. The plane was being operated underneath lease by Emirates, a long-haul provider primarily based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The runway was reopened and placed on standby standing round 4 p.m., in accordance with an announcement on Tuesday night. Which means it may be used for landings however won’t be included in common flight planning.
Yiu earlier advised Radio Tv Hong Kong that it will stay in that standing till the wreckage is absolutely cleared from the ocean.
Hong Kong authorities have been in touch with barge corporations for the cleanup however they may not start elimination work whereas Tropical Storm Fengshen was nonetheless affecting the town, he stated. Relying on climate, wreckage elimination and different work might be accomplished inside per week, Yiu stated.
Investigators have been persevering with to work to find out the reason for the crash. Yiu stated each climate and runway circumstances met requirements through the incident, whereas mechanical and human components have been but to be investigated.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan stated her bureau hoped the air accident investigation authority would launch an preliminary probe report inside a month, the bureau posted on Fb.
Monday’s crash was the second deadly incident for ACT Airways. In 2017, a Boeing 747 flown by ACT Airways underneath the title MyCargo crashed because it ready to land in fog in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, killing all 4 crew on board and 35 individuals on the bottom. ACT Airways flew that route from Hong Kong on behalf of Turkish Airways.
A later report on the crash by Kyrgyz authorities blamed the flight crew for misjudging the aircraft’s place whereas touchdown in poor climate. The crew was drained and had a heated change with air-traffic management earlier than the crash, the report stated.
