The nose gear of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines A310 aircraft with 229 people on board broke down during takeoff in Dubai on Monday, injuring 14 passengers. The aircraft blew its front tire or the front landing gear collapsed as the jet was taxiing.
As a result, Dubai airport - the hub for Emirates airways - was shut down following the freak accident. Fourteen people suffered minor injuries in the accident and thousands of passengers were stuck in the terminals and 71 international flights were affected. Fifty incoming flights were diverted to Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
Hats off
Kudos to the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority - the airport reopened within 8 hours. How did they ever manage that at an airport which saw more than 28.7 million passengers and 1.4 million tonnes of freight passing through in 2006?
The first emergency response was the safety and security of all onboard. Having evacuated everybody safely, multiple agencies swung into action.
Within seconds, air traffic control diverted all flights due to land on the blocked runway, and mandated that all departing flights return to the airport. Emergency crews were deployed to clear the runway. Investigators headed to the accident site to make an early assessment.
All of these tasks, and a number of other hi-tech operations, happened efficiently, quickly and effectively.
Getting an airport functioning again within seven hours of a major incident takes the skill of several hundred well-drilled professionals, whose job it is to concentrate on the task of guaranteeing the safety of passengers, and the rapid return to normal operations for the airport.
The Dubai aviation authorities will be reviewing their response to the accident, and learning how to better manage information distribution as part of their deliberations. But, in general, they should be reflecting on a job well done. And rightly so.
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Thanks, Interesting read….