Emirates Crash Probe Turns to Crew After Boeing Jet Cleared
Report by regulator raises number of injuries to 30 from 24.
(Bloomberg) -- U.A.E. investigators will look at the actions of the crew of an Emirates jet involved in a crash landing a year ago after an interim report found no problems with the aircraft systems or engines.
A probe into the Aug. 3 crash, which injured 30 of the 300 people on board and led to the death of a firefighter on the ground, showed no abnormalities in the Boeing Co. 777-300’s systems after testing by the manufacturer and downloaded data analysis, the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority said Sunday on its website.
“The investigation is working to determine and analyze the human performance factors that influenced flight crew actions during the landing and attempted go-around,” according to the report.
Flight EK521 from India crashed at Dubai International Airport after trying to land too far down the runway in a strong tailwind and failing to take off again when the gusts changed direction. The crash was the worst in the 30-year history of Dubai-based Emirates, the world’s biggest airline by international traffic. The report didn’t assign blame for the crash and raised the number of injured people to 30 from 24.
Emirates’ own internal investigation, which includes a “thorough review” of training and operational procedures, is ongoing, a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. The airline is waiting for safety directives from the authorities, and will implement any it receives.
“We continue to extend our full cooperation to the investigators as they work toward the final report,” the spokeswoman said.
The regulator will continue collaborating with authorities on flight operations, human performance, training standards, procedures, aircraft systems, passenger evacuation and airport emergency response, it said in the report.
State-owned FlyDubai suffered a crash in southern Russia’s Rostov-on-Don in March 2016 that killed all 62 people on board the 737-800 jetliner.
To contact the reporter on this story: Deena Kamel Yousef in Dubai, UAE at dhussein1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Reiter at creiter2@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Christopher Elser