Emirates Airline Preliminary Crash Report Suggests Engine Power Added Too Late
aTP- Arab tourism portal News- Pilots of the Emirates Airline jetliner that crashed last month appear to have made errors in trying to abort their landing, the preliminary accident report released Tuesday suggests.
The pilots of Flight 521 seem to have added engine power too late in their attempt to climb after touching down too far down the runway, according to the report.
While the report didn’t explicitly blame the pilots, accident investigators didn’t highlight any technical problems with the Boeing Co. 777 plane.The jetliner was destroyed in the ensuing fire at the Dubai airport, killing one firefighter. All 300 passengers and crew on board escaped the plane that became engulfed in flames.
One suffered serious injuries, others more minor ones.The plane touched down far along the runway, triggering an automated alert to the crew of a “long landing.” Flight 521 became airborne again six seconds after the landing gear first touched down, and pilots retracted flaps and the landing gear.
The aircraft briefly climbed before beginning to descend again, according to the 28-page report published by the United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority.
Only then did the pilots adjust the engine’s power setting, investigators said.“Three seconds before impact with the runway, both thrust levers were moved from the idle position to full forward,” according to the investigation.
The engines started to respond about two seconds later, but not in time to avoid the plane impacting the runway a second later.
The plane’s landing gear was still retracting.“This was followed by the impact of the engines on the runway,” the report said. One of the engines detached, sparking flames.
The firefighter was killed about nine minutes after the plane came to a standstill when the plane’s center fuel tank exploded, according to the report.An Emirates spokesperson said the airline will continue to extend its full co-operation as investigators work towards the final report.
“Emirates is also conducting its own rigorous internal investigation to proactively review what we know about the accident, and consider measures that may enhance our operations or procedures,” the spokesperson said.
It was Emirates Airline’s first loss of an aircraft to an accident in its 31-year history. Emirates is the world’s biggest airline by international traffic and the largest operator of Boeing 777 planes.Emirates Airline wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Source : The Wall Street Journal
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