On 20 October 2025, Emirates SkyCargo Flight 9788, a scheduled international cargo flight operated by an Air ACTBoeing 747-400 for Emirates SkyCargo from Al Maktoum International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, to Hong Kong International Airport suffered a runway excursion at Hong Kong International Airport at around 03:53 HKT (19:53 UTC), which then led to a collision with a ground vehicle, killing the two airport staff inside it. All four occupants of the aircraft survived. The aircraft, which came to rest in the water, was written off. The Airport Authority announced that the new runway is fit for use after being examined and reopened.[1]
It is the first fatal aviation incident to occur at Hong Kong International Airport since China Airlines Flight 642 in 1999.[2]
Background
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was TC-ACF, a Boeing 747-481BDSF operated by Air ACT for Emirates SkyCargo. The aircraft was first delivered as a passenger plane to All Nippon Airways (ANA) on 13 June 1993 with registration JA8962, and previously bore a Pokémon special livery during its time with ANA. Following its retirement from ANA, the aircraft was converted to a freighter in 2011 and delivered to Air ACT in 2013.[3][4][5] It was one of two aircraft operated by Air ACT at the time of the accident.[6]
Flight crew
Four flight crew were onboard the flight, they were believed as 35-year-old Captain Atilla Yilmaz, 44-year-old first officer Candemir Ulker, 35-year-old loadmaster Caner Durgut and 46-year-old Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Muzaffer Tuydu. All of them were Turkish nationals.[7]
Ground crew
The two airport security staff killed in the collision were a 41-year-old man and a 30-year-old man.[8] The Hong Kong Airport Authority confirmed the deaths and offered its condolences.[9]
Accident
The aircraft departed Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai on 19 October 2025 at about 16:59 local time (12:59 UTC) and flew about 7 hours to land on runway 07L at Hong Kong International Airport on 20 October at about 03:53 HKT (19 October 23:53 UTC). It had decelerated to about 90 knots (170km/h; 100mph) when it veered off the left side of the runway about 5,000 feet (1,500m) past the threshold.[10][3] During the excursion, the aircraft struck a patrol vehicle that was carrying out patrolling duty on the perimeter road outside the fenced perimeter of the runway. The aircraft came to rest in the sea with its tail section separated from the rest of the fuselage, being nearly submerged in the water with large cracks clearly visible aft of the rear pressure bulkhead.[2] The Hong Kong Fire Services Department had received notification of the incident at 03:55 HKT and began the rescue operation two minutes later.[11]
Emirates confirmed the aircraft was not carrying any cargo.[12] The ground vehicle was also dragged five metres from shore and trapped seven metres under water.[13] The aircraft did not send an emergency signal and did not respond to air traffic control.[14] According to Flightradar24 data, the aircraft hit the water at about 49 knots (91km/h; 56mph). At the time of the crash, the wind speed was 4 knots (7.4km/h; 4.6mph; 2.1m/s) with gusts of up to 21 knots (39km/h; 24mph; 11m/s).[3] At least one of the aircraft's evacuation slides deployed successfully.[2]
All four crew members on the aircraft survived and were transported to a hospital. One man in the vehicle struck was killed, while a second man was sent to North Lantau Hospital where he later died.[15][16] The ground crew killed were a 41-year-old driver of the vehicle, and a 30-year-old passenger.[8] The two ground staff had seven and 12 years of experience respectively. At least 213 firefighters and first aid officers, 45 vehicles, ships and a flying service helicopter assisted in the rescue efforts.[17] The affected runway was closed, but the two other runways remained in operation.[2] 12 cargo flights were cancelled throughout the day while passenger flights were not affected.[14]
On 26 October, salvage crews recovered the fuselage and loaded it onto a vessel. The aircraft's tail and other parts including the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were lifted and sent to a laboratory for preliminary examination. Before the salvage operation, experts conducted an underwater sonar survey.[21]
1 2 凌逸德 (20 October 2025). "【機場貨機衝落海】有片｜兩喪命地勤分別30歲及41歲 貨機擱岸邊"[[Airport cargo plane crashes into the sea] Video | Two ground crew members killed, aged 30 and 41, were seen stranded on the shore]. HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 20 October 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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