A cargo jet that veered off a runway at Hong Kong Airport yesterday killing two people, had been involved in a previous incident at Shannon Airport.
In last night’s tragic accident, an Air ACT Cargo Boeing 747-481 collided with a ground handling vehicle after departing the runway soon after landing. The four crew on board the cargo jet survived the crash however the two occupants of the ground vehicle died.
The flight, operated by Turkish charter airline Air ACT Cargo on behalf of Emirates Sky Cargo, had just arrived at Hong Kong Airport from Al Maktoum International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.
After landing, the jet deviated from the north runway, ditched in the sea and broke apart.
Hong Kong’s AAIA confirmed: “The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) has launched an investigation into an accident involving a B744 cargo aircraft (flight number UAE9788), arriving from Al Maktoum International Airport, United Arab Emirates, deviating from the North Runway after landing and ditched into the sea this morning (October 20). It was also found that a ground handling vehicle had fallen into the sea, causing the death of two people on board.”
On February 15th 2021, the same aircraft (registration TC-ACF), was involved in an incident where it had to return Shannon Airport soon after take-off when the crew reported an engine problem.
The flight, operating on behalf of Turkish Airlines Cargo, was destined for Chicago having arrived earlier from Istanbul in Turkey on a refuelling stop.
Soon after departure, the crew of flight THY-6551 informed air traffic controllers that they had ‘engine problems’ and wished to level off. The crew reported that one of the jet’s four engines had ‘stalled’ on departure.
The aircraft, with 5 crew on board, levelled off at 3,000 feet for a time while the pilots investigated the issue. A short time later the crew confirmed to controllers they wished to return to the airfield.
The flight dumped aviation fuel off the Clare coast to ensure they touched down within safe landing weight limits.
While fire crews were placed on standby at Shannon, the Irish Coast Guard was also alerted to the incident and requested the volunteer crew of the Kilrush RNLI lifeboat to stand by at their station.
After spending around 90 minutes dumping fuel the crew confirmed they were ready to proceed back to Shannon. The flight landed safely at 2.48pm and was met on arrival by airport fire and rescue crews.
Records also show that the same aircraft suffered an engine problem while on approach to Amsterdam Airport in July of this year.
In June 2024, the same plane was forced to return to Hong Kong Airport after the crew reported problems with the jet’s flaps. In both cases, the aircraft landed safely.