Emirates SkyCargo Flight 9788
Wreckage of the aircraft after being recovered from the sea | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 October 2025 |
| Summary | Runway excursion, collision with ground vehicle on landing, plunged into sea; under investigation |
| Site | Hong Kong International Airport, New Territories 22°19′40.7″N 113°53′48.0″E / 22.327972°N 113.896667°E |
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| Total fatalities | 2 |
| Total injuries | 4 |
| Aircraft | |
TC-ACF, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in 2021 | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-481BDSF |
| Operator | Air ACT on behalf of Emirates SkyCargo |
| IATA flight No. | EK9788 |
| ICAO flight No. | UAE9788 |
| Call sign | EMIRATES 9788 |
| Registration | TC-ACF |
| Flight origin | Al Maktoum International Airport, Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Destination | Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong |
| Occupants | 4 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 4 |
| Survivors | 4 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 2 |
On 20 October 2025, Emirates SkyCargo Flight 9788, a scheduled international cargo flight operated by an Air ACT Boeing 747-400 for Emirates SkyCargo from Al Maktoum International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, to Hong Kong International Airport suffered a runway excursion at Hong Kong International Airport at around 03:53 HKT (19:53 UTC), which then led to a collision with a ground vehicle, killing the two airport staff inside it. All four occupants of the aircraft survived. The aircraft, which came to rest in the water, was written off. The Airport Authority announced that the new runway is fit for use after being examined and reopened.[1]
It is the first fatal aviation incident to occur at Hong Kong International Airport since China Airlines Flight 642 in 1999.[2]
Background
[edit]Aircraft
[edit]The aircraft involved was TC-ACF, a Boeing 747-481BDSF operated by Air ACT for Emirates SkyCargo. The aircraft was first delivered as a passenger plane to All Nippon Airways (ANA) on 13 June 1993 with registration JA8962, and previously bore a Pokémon special livery during its time with ANA. Following its retirement from ANA, the aircraft was converted to a freighter in 2011 and delivered to Air ACT in 2013.[3][4][5] It was one of two aircraft operated by Air ACT at the time of the accident.[6]
Flight crew
[edit]Four flight crew were onboard the flight, they were believed as 35-year-old Captain Atilla Yilmaz, 44-year-old first officer Candemir Ulker, 35-year-old loadmaster Caner Durgut and 46-year-old Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Muzaffer Tuydu. All of them were Turkish nationals.[7]
Ground crew
[edit]The two airport security staff killed in the collision were a 41-year-old man and a 30-year-old man.[8] The Hong Kong Airport Authority confirmed the deaths and offered its condolences.[9]
Accident
[edit]The aircraft departed Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai on 19 October 2025 at about 16:59 local time (12:59 UTC) and flew about 7 hours to land on runway 07L at Hong Kong International Airport on 20 October at about 03:53 HKT (19 October 23:53 UTC). It had decelerated to about 90 knots (170 km/h; 100 mph) when it veered off the left side of the runway about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) past the threshold.[10][3] During the excursion, the aircraft struck a patrol vehicle that was carrying out patrolling duty on the perimeter road outside the fenced perimeter of the runway. The aircraft came to rest in the sea with its tail section separated from the rest of the fuselage, being nearly submerged in the water with large cracks clearly visible aft of the rear pressure bulkhead.[2] The Hong Kong Fire Services Department had received notification of the incident at 03:55 HKT and began the rescue operation two minutes later.[11]
Emirates confirmed the aircraft was not carrying any cargo.[12] The ground vehicle was also dragged five metres from shore and trapped seven metres under water.[13] The aircraft did not send an emergency signal and did not respond to air traffic control.[14] According to Flightradar24 data, the aircraft hit the water at about 49 knots (91 km/h; 56 mph). At the time of the crash, the wind speed was 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph; 2.1 m/s) with gusts of up to 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph; 11 m/s).[3] At least one of the aircraft's evacuation slides deployed successfully.[2]
All four crew members on the aircraft survived and were transported to a hospital. One man in the vehicle struck was killed, while a second man was sent to North Lantau Hospital where he later died.[15][16] The ground crew killed were a 41-year-old driver of the vehicle, and a 30-year-old passenger.[8] The two ground staff had seven and 12 years of experience respectively. At least 213 firefighters and first aid officers, 45 vehicles, ships and a flying service helicopter assisted in the rescue efforts.[17] The affected runway was closed, but the two other runways remained in operation.[2] 12 cargo flights were cancelled throughout the day while passenger flights were not affected.[14]
Investigation
[edit]Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department said in a statement it was following up with the airline and other parties involved in the crash.[18][19] The National Transportation Safety Board said in a Twitter post they are sending a team of five investigators to assist in the investigation.[20] Turkey's Transport Safety Investigation Center and experts from Boeing are also part of the investigation. The city's air accident investigation authority said it would release a preliminary report within one month.[21]
On 20 October 2025, an official from the Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said that they were still trying to locate the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from the sea.[2] On 21 October, it was reported that the location of the black box has been identified.[22]
On 26 October, salvage crews recovered the fuselage and loaded it onto a vessel. The aircraft's tail and other parts including the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were lifted and sent to a laboratory for preliminary examination. Before the salvage operation, experts conducted an underwater sonar survey.[21]
Official response
[edit]Airport Authority Hong Kong confirmed the deaths of two ground crew members and offered its condolences.[9]
See also
[edit]- China Airlines Flight 605 – Another Boeing 747-400 that went off the runway at Kai Tak Airport in similar circumstances in 1993.
- Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 – Another Boeing 747-400F operated by Air ACT on behalf of Turkish Airlines which crashed in Kyrgyzstan.
- Singapore Airlines Flight 006, Western Airlines Flight 2605 and LATAM Airlines Perú Flight 2213 – Other flights that collided with ground vehicles, killing some of their occupants.
- List of Boeing 747 hull losses
References
[edit]- ^ "阿聯酋貨機撞地勤車墜海疑點重重 港機管局:天氣及跑道適合運作". www.ettoday.net (in Chinese). 20 October 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Yip, Martin; Lau, Stuart (20 October 2025). "Two dead after cargo plane skids off Hong Kong runway into sea". BBC News. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Petchenik, Ian (20 October 2025). "AirACT 747 veers off runway in Hong Kong, strikes ground vehicle". Flightradar24. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ 官祿倡 (20 October 2025). "機場貨機衝落海|最早1993年於ANA服役 身披「比卡超」翱翔天際". HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 22 October 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Zwerger, Patrick (20 October 2025). "This is the crashed Boeing 747 from Hong Kong" (in German). Flug Revue. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ "9T/RUN AirACT". Flightradar24. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- ^ 翁鈺輝 (20 October 2025). "機場貨機衝落海|4機組人員均土耳其籍 包括35歲機長44歲副機長". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ a b 凌逸德 (20 October 2025). "【機場貨機衝落海】有片|兩喪命地勤分別30歲及41歲 貨機擱岸邊" [[Airport cargo plane crashes into the sea] Video | Two ground crew members killed, aged 30 and 41, were seen stranded on the shore]. HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 20 October 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Press Releases, Media Centre". Hong Kong International Airport. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ Robles, Carlos (19 October 2025). "Cargo plane plunges into sea at Hong Kong airport; 2 killed". BNO News. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 歐陽德浩, 賴卓盈 (20 October 2025). "機場貨機衝落海|兩死者機場任職7年及12年 困7米深水底救出後亡". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 21 October 2025.
- ^ Pomfret, James; Master, Farah (19 October 2025). "Cargo plane slides off runway in Hong Kong, media reports two dead". Reuters. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- ^ McMichael, Clara (19 October 2025). "2 dead at Hong Kong International Airport after cargo plane skids off runway into the sea". ABC News (United States). Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- ^ a b Mok, Danny (20 October 2025). "2 dead after Emirates plane slides off Hong Kong runway, apparently hits ground vehicle". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ "Hong Kong: two people reported killed after cargo plane skids off airport runway". The Guardian. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ Lam, Marco (20 October 2025). "Cargo plane runs off runway, crashes into ground vehicle and falls into sea at HK airport". The Standard. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ Sarkar, Alisha Rahaman (20 October 2025). "Two dead after Hong Kong cargo plane skids off runway into sea". The Independent. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ Chan, Ho-Him; Leung, Kanis (20 October 2025). "A cargo aircraft skids off a Hong Kong runway into the sea, killing 2 people". The Associated Press. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Hradecky, Simon (20 October 2025). "Accident: ACT B744 at Hong Kong on Oct 20th 2025, runway excursion, aircraft broken up in waters". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ National Transportation Safety Board [@NTSB_Newsroom] (21 October 2025). "The NTSB is sending a team of five investigators to Hong Kong to assist the Air Accident Investigation Authority investigation into Monday's runway excursion at Hong Kong International Airport involving a Boeing 747-418 owned by Turkish cargo airline ACT Airlines. In accordance with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation the AAIA is responsible for the investigation and controls the release of all investigative information" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 October 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Cargo plane wreckage recovered from Hong Kong waters days after deadly airport crash". CBS News. 26 October 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
- ^ 吳美松, 石國威 (21 October 2025). "機場貨機墮海|黑盒位置鎖定 北跑道下午4時以「備用狀態」重開". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 21 October 2025.
External links
[edit]- 2025 disasters in China
- 2025 in Hong Kong
- October 2025 in China
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 2025
- Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 747
- Aviation accidents and incidents in Hong Kong
- Airliner accidents and incidents involving ground collisions
- Aviation accidents and incidents involving runway excursions
- Emirates (airline) accidents and incidents
