Investigators probing the 2016 crash landing of an Emirates flight in Dubai say there were no mechanical problems leading up to the incident, with the focus now shifting to establishing exactly what the pilots did in the moments before the plane came down.
A statement issued on Sunday by the General Civil Aviation Authority said "there were no aircraft systems or engine abnormalities up to the time of the accident".
Investigators are "working to determine and analyse the human performance factors that influence flight crew actions".
The August 3, 2016, crash landing destroyed the Boeing 777-300 coming from Thiruvananthapuram, India, with 282 passengers and 18 crew.
A preliminary report into the crash last September found the pilot aborted the landing after an initial touchdown in strong gusts, but the aircraft hit the runway as its landing gear was retracting.
The investigation from the GCAA performed a detailed examination into the aircraft evacuation systems, including the operation of emergency escape slides, and the effects of wind on the escape slides.
Twenty-one passengers, one flight crew member and four cabin crew members sustained minor injuries. Four cabin crew members sustained serious injuries.
About nine minutes after the aircraft came to rest, Jassim Al Baloushi — a firefighter — was killed after the explosion of a wing fuel tank.
“On first glance, it seems the pilot may have been indecisive about the planned go around because he actually managed to get the airplane onto the ground,” said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research in the UK.
“The sequence of events leading to that as well as the decision to retract the main landing gear, which ultimately led to the airplane collapsing on touchdown, is what will be key to the investigation”.
He said the airplane did exactly as it was guided to do.
“It’s easy to second guess what could and should have been done, but in real-time, it’s difficult to know what the pilot in command was thinking given the prevailing conditions and the overall performance of the jet as it came down to land,” Mr Ahmad said.
“This is why the human factor is key to understanding what happened, why it happened and what processes can be developed or enhanced to ensure a repeat event does not occur."
Capt Darren Straker, former head of air accident investigation at the GCAA, said it is hoped the final report will also shed light on how the wing tank came to explore nine minutes after the crash landing, so that lessons can be learned. The Boeing 777 is regarded as one of the safest aircraft in the skies.
He said loss of control in-flight is in the top three causes of accidents, though crashes are uncommon and have numerous contributing factors.
“This accident was preventable, hopefully the systemic issues will be identified in the final report. Preliminary analysis points to crew training standards and the oversight of that process, in conjunction with consequential effects of the prolonged runway contact, high temperatures and resulting explosion.”
An Emirates spokesperson said its internal investigation was ongoing, including a thorough review of all training and operational processes and procedures.
“Emirates is awaiting the publication of the UAE AAIS Annex 13 final investigation report, at which time any safety directives will be implemented and any safety recommendations will be considered,” the airline said.
“We continue to extend our full cooperation to the investigators as they work towards the final report.”The August 3, 2016, crash landing destroyed the Boeing 777-300 coming from Thiruvananthapuram, India.
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Read more:
Emirates flight crash lands at Dubai airport - in pictures
Dubai crash pilot ‘aborted his landing after touching down’
Emirates plane crash landing in Dubai: As it happened
Hundreds of mourners turn out for funeral of hero Emirates flight firefighter
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UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
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Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
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