Dramatic footage shows Emirates plane skidding along runway
An Emirates plane crashed as it landed at Dubai International Airport. All 300 people on board survived the crash landing, though the Dubai government has said a firefighter died "while saving the lives of others."
The Boeing 777-300 was flying in from Kerala, India when it skidded across the runway, causing huge plumes of black smoke to billow from the front of the plane. Mobile phone footage captured at the scene by witnesses shows the events unfolding.
Passengers with their luggage could be seen in footage (since deleted) fleeing the scene of the crash as black smoke fills the sky behind them. Parents hold the hands of young children while they walk calmly across the tarmac as emergency vehicles rush to the crash site.
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It is unclear what caused the crash, but investigations are continuing. According to the BBC, the entire top of the aircraft's fuselage was torn and burned off during the crash and ensuing fire. Photographs from the scene confirm this.
The evacuation was swift, drawing upon the flight crew's training. The FAA requires aircraft operators to demonstrate that they can evacuate an aircraft as large as the 777-300, which has a twin-aisle configuration, in "90 seconds or less."
Flight EK521 was carrying 282 passengers and 18 crew, according to the Dubai Media Office. The accident happened around 12:45 p.m. local time as it was arriving from the southern Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram.
The incident closed Dubai's airport, a major gateway to the Middle East and Asia, for more than six hours.
This is the most significant incident-to-date involving a Boeing 777-300, which is an increasingly popular aircraft type among airlines seeking fuel-efficient options for flying long-range routes. Emirates has 12 such aircraft and is scheduled to take delivery of 16 more this year, according to the airline.
The Boeing 777-200, which is a shorter version of the aircraft that accomodates fewer passengers, has had three prominent recent crashes. One of these incidents, the crash landing of Asiana flight 214 in San Francisco in 2014, was blamed on pilot error.
Andrew Freedman contributed reporting
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