In the early hours of Monday morning, a tragic aviation incident unfolded at Hong Kong International Airport when a cargo aircraft veered off the runway and crashed into the sea, claiming the lives of two airport ground staff.
Hong Kong Cargo Plane Crash Kills Two in Runway Tragedy
At approximately 03:50 local time (19:50 GMT), Emirates flight EK9788, a Boeing 747-481 cargo aircraft, was arriving from Dubai.
As it attempted to land, the aircraft suddenly diverted from its designated path, breached the runway perimeter, and collided with an airport patrol vehicle before plunging into the water.
The two individuals inside the patrol car, a driver aged 30 and a passenger aged 41, tragically lost their lives.
Both were seasoned staff members with seven and twelve years of service, respectively. Miraculously, all four crew members aboard the plane survived the crash.
During a press briefing, Steven Yiu, Executive Director of Airport Operations, explained that the patrol vehicle had been driving “at a safe distance from the runway” on a service road outside the fencing. He stated: “Normally, the plane is not supposed to turn towards the sea.”
Yiu confirmed that no distress signal was sent by the aircraft during its landing approach, and firmly ruled out the possibility of the patrol vehicle entering the runway without clearance.
Hong Kong International Airport is widely regarded for its strong safety record. This incident marks one of the deadliest at the airport since its relocation to Chek Lap Kok in 1998.
- The last fatal accident occurred in August 1999 when a China Airlines flight crashed-landed during a typhoon, killing three.
- Monday’s crash is only the second deadly event at the airport in over two decades.
The aircraft’s fuselage was found split in two, with part of it submerged in water. Images from the scene reveal jagged cracks along the body of the plane.
Emergency evacuation slides had been deployed, and the four crew members, after activating emergency exits, were rescued by fire service teams within minutes.
New footage of the Air ACT 747 that ran off the runway at Hong Kong International Airport this morning. pic.twitter.com/3tHlBwruwu
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 20, 2025
Investigations Underway
An Emirates spokesperson told the BBC: “Crew are confirmed to be safe and there was no cargo onboard.”
The plane, wet-leased from Turkish airline ACT Airlines, sustained significant damage on impact. Under a wet lease, the aircraft, crew, and insurance are all provided by the operating carrier—in this case, ACT Airlines.
Authorities are now focusing on recovery and investigation:
- Divers successfully retrieved the bodies of the two ground staff from the sea.
- Efforts are ongoing to locate the aircraft’s black boxes, both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.
- A police spokesperson noted that criminal investigations have not been ruled out.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Transport Bureau expressed its sorrow: “We are deeply saddened by the deaths and extend our condolences to the families.”
Flight Disruptions and Runway Closure
The affected runway has been closed for the remainder of the day as the investigation and recovery efforts continue. However, the airport’s other two runways remain operational. Despite this, disruptions were unavoidable:
- At least 11 incoming cargo flights were cancelled, according to the Airport Authority.
- Cleanup operations and safety checks are expected to continue well into the week.
The global aviation sector has taken notice of the incident, with safety experts awaiting the results of the investigation to understand what led the aircraft to deviate so drastically upon landing. Until then, questions loom over what went wrong during what should have been a routine landing.
As tributes pour in for the two lost lives, authorities remain committed to uncovering the full truth behind one of Hong Kong’s most sobering aviation accidents in recent memory.
