Four Irish escape Emirates flight which crash-landed in Dubai

Four Irish people were among the passengers and crew who safely escaped from an Emirates airline flight which crash-landed and burst into flames on Wednesday at Dubai International Airport, according to the airline.

A firefighter was killed while responding to the incident the chief executive of Emirates has said.

Ten people were taken to hospital after the incident, Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum told a news conference.

In an earlier statement the airline said all 282 passengers and 18 crew on board the plane coming from India were accounted for and safe.

Emirates released a list of the nationalities of the passengers and crew on board, the majority of whom were Indian (226).

The Boeing 777 was carrying 282 passengers and 18 crew members, according to the airline, which had earlier provided a lower figure.

They escaped from the burning fuselage and were evacuated to safety, authorities said.

Video posted online showed black smoke billowing from what looked like an Emirates jetliner lying on its belly on the runway.

Firefighters soon managed to bring the fire under control, and the charred fuselage of the plane appeared to no longer be burning.

The top of the aircraft was scorched brown from near the cockpit back to its tail. Several yellow fire trucks surrounded the plane.

The government’s media office said that flights were resumed at 14.30 after traffic was suspended for several hours.

Cause of crash

Safety experts said it was too early to pinpoint any cause for the crash. Investigators will scour the wreckage and interview pilots, controllers and witnesses for clues to any technical malfunctions, human error or weather-related problems. Judging by footage of the aircraft’s intact tail section, where the “black box” flight recorders are located, vital voice and data recordings should be available for investigators.

Early indications suggested the plane was not at fault and other factors would have been involved, according to expert David Learmount.

“The images tell us nothing except the aircraft eventually caught fire, but it certainly doesn’t tell us why it did,” he said.

“It was an incredibly hot day, it was very nearly 50 degrees.

“If you get a damaged wing and fuel comes out of it, it vaporises in temperatures like that and vapour is highly inflammable.”

He said temperature was “very likely” to have been a factor and that the crash should not prompt concerns about the safety of the plane.

“There have been accidents where 777s have been very badly damaged during a landing and yet we haven’t had a fire like that,” he said.

Mr Learmount said the crew acted in line with protocol by evacuating all passengers.

“If there is a fire, or a risk of a fire, then the drill for every crew for every aeroplane flight in the world is to get the passengers off very fast, because if you don’t it’s a disaster,” he said.

“Did they do well? No, they did what they were paid for.”

‘Wind shear’

Online weather reports before the crash reported Dubai was relatively windy, with dust blowing and “wind shear” reported on all runways. Wind shear is a potentially hazardous condition involving sudden and unpredictable changes in wind direction or speed.

A spokesperson for operator Dubai Airports said all passengers and crew aboard flight EK521 coming from Thiruvananthapuram had been safely evacuated and emergency services were managing the situation.

Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala, a popular beach-side tourist destination. Many migrant workers employed in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf nations come from Kerala.

Plane manufacturer Boeing said in a statement it was monitoring the situation in Dubai and it would be working with Emirates to gather more information.

Consular assistance

The company said its main priority was to those involved and offering support to concerned family and friends and set up a UK telephone line for family members 00442034508853.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said the Irish embassy in Abu Dhabi was engaging with the relevant authorities. “The department stands ready to provide consular assistance if requested,” she said.

TP Seetharam, India’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said Indian diplomats had been dispatched to the airport and had met directly with many passengers.

“Many of them are in shock after such an event, and there may be minor bruises,” he said. Only one person – a crew member – had been taken to hospital for treatment, he added.

Safety record

Dubai International is by far the Middle East’s busiest airport and is the world’s busiest air hub in terms of international passenger traffic. It handled some 78 million passengers last year.

Both the airline and aircraft have a solid safety record. It is the first time an aircraft operated by Emirates appears to have been damaged beyond repair since it was founded in the 1980s and is only its third serious safety incident.

Emirates carried 51.3 million passengers in 2015 and is the world’s fourth largest carrier in terms of passenger numbers adjusted for the length of each trip.

It has a fleet of more than 250 aircraft, including the world’s largest fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 jets, and uses its Dubai hub to link the United States or Europe to Asia.

Agencies