Emirates flight catches fire in Dubai

Flames engulfed the plane after all 300 people on board escaped. The idea is that you have to be able to evacuate an aircraft within 90 seconds if there is an accident on the ground.

At the time of the crash landing, the scorching mid-day sun had raised temperatures at the airport to a humid 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). That’s about average for this time of year.

In a press conference, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said he didn’t want to “jump to conclusions” on what had caused the fire and subsequent explosion.

Some people waiting for relatives said passengers had been informed there was a problem with the landing gear.

“It’s conceivable that during the go-around that they experienced a unsafe wind shear”, he said.

But prior to Malaysia Airlines’ 2014 twin disasters, the 777 had a solid safety record.

In 2009, an Emirates A340 taking off from Melbourne struck several structures at the end of the runway before climbing high enough to return for a safe landing.

But the Indian state is also a popular holiday destination, for which Dubai serves as a connection, and there were 20 nationalities on board including the 24 from the UK, 11 from the United Arab Emirates and six each from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

Investigators expect to issue a preliminary report on the crash within a month.

Dubai International airport, the Middle East’s busiest, was closed for more than five hours as a result of the incident, causing many incoming flights to be diverted until it was reopened at around 6.30pm.

Dubai International Airport is the world’s busiest civil aviation hub, which accommodated more than 78 million passengers in 2015.

Of the 282 passengers on the flight EK521, 157 disembarked in Dubai and left the airport yesterday afternoon.

Mrs Binu says two minutes earlier and she would still have been in the plane when it burst into flames. The airline said there were 282 passengers, 18 crew on board.

Dubai airport said Thursday the operations are “far from back to normal” as dozens of flights have been cancelled or delayed after Wednesday’s plane crash-landing. 5 passengers were brought to local hospitals with minor injuries, and we have dedicated a staff liaison supporting their requirements.

Training is key, a former Emirates crew member who asked not to be identified, told CNN.

“They were very fortunate to get everybody out”.

Planes such as Emirates’ Boeing 777-300 are designed so that all passengers can escape within 90 seconds, Quest said. However, one firefighter died saving the lives of others. He was buried Thursday in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.

#GCAA warns all residents in the #UAE to stop abusing social networks by publishing videos, news or pictures of aviation’s accidents.

That call may be a little late, considering the worldwide attention on the accident.

Video footage showed that the plane appeared to have come down on its belly without the use of its wheels, lending credence to the theory that the landing gear was at fault. Over the loud speaker, a man’s voice calmly calls out: “Cabin crew, this is the captain: evacuate, evacuate”.

But travellers can be seen scrambling to collect their luggage as the cabin fills with smoke, with oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.