Black boxes of cargo plane that crashed in Hong Kong retrieved

(Chinadaily)- Hong Kong’s Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) has retrieved the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder – commonly known as the “black boxes” – from a cargo aircraft that ditched into the sea on Monday.

A professional team lifted the tail of the B744 cargo aircraft out of water at 10:41 pm on Friday and transferred it to a barge to be handled by the AAIA, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said on Saturday.

“During the day, the salvage vessel also lifted one of the cargo aircraft’s engines and the landing gear out of the sea,” the AAHK said in a news release.

Starting Friday, two vessels are continuing the salvage operation off the north runway of the Hong Kong International Airport, and the operation is expected to last a few days, it said, adding that flight operations at the airport remain normal since the start of the salvage work.

Arriving from Al Maktoum International Airport, United Arab Emirates, the cargo aircraft, operated by Türkiye’s AirACT on behalf of Emirates, skidded off the airport’s north runway after landing at 3:53 am on Monday.

The aircraft struck a vehicle with two airport security staff members patrolling a perimeter road outside the runway zone and both the cargo plane and the patrol car fell into the sea. Fire services rescued the four cargo plane crew members to safety, but the two security staff members died in the incident.

Investigation

There is water ingress into the two “black boxes”. The AAIA, which is leading the investigation into the accident, has sent the devices to a laboratory for preliminary examination to determine the next course of action.

Experts will conduct an 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.

The AAIA 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, according to the government.

Investigative authorities from related countries have appointed accredited representatives and experts to participate in the investigation and provide professional advice.

Personnel from the National Transportation Safety Board of the US and the Transport Safety Investigation Center of Türkiye have arrived in Hong Kong, while experts from Boeing are also participating.