The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) is conducting an investigation into an accident involving a B744 cargo aircraft (flight number UAE9788), arriving from Al Maktoum International Airport, United Arab Emirates, which deviated from the North Runway of Hong Kong International Airport after landing and ditching into the sea on October 20, in order to determine the circumstances and causes of the accident.
The professional team commissioned by the Airport Authority Hong Kong is carrying out the salvage operation to remove the cargo aircraft involved in the incident, in order to enable the AAIA to conduct further inspections and investigation.
To expedite the collection of data required for the investigation, the AAIA successfully retrieved the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder, commonly known as the “black boxes”, from the aircraft wreckage late last night (October 24). There is water ingress into the two “black boxes”. The AAIA has sent the devices to the laboratory for preliminary examination to determine the next course of action.
Experts will conduct in-depth analysis of the collected data, including reconstructing the sequence of events through the data from the “black boxes”, interviews with relevant personnel, laboratory findings, examination of the aircraft wreckage, aircraft operating procedures, aircraft system status and maintenance records, weather conditions, and other relevant factors, to prepare a report.
“Following the successful recovery of the ‘black boxes’, the subsequent data processing, along with a thorough analysis and integration of other evidence, will take time. We will release a preliminary investigation report within one month and continue to conduct a thorough and rigorous investigation to determine the sequence of events and causes of the accident, as well as to propose safety recommendations to enhance aviation safety,” an AAIA spokesperson said.