Probe finds crashed Emirates airliner tried to go around

Dubai, Sep 6 (AP) A preliminary report released today intolast month’s Emirates airliner crash landing in Dubai foundthat the pilot attempted to take off again after brieflytouching down, and that the plane ultimately hit the runway asits landing gear was still retracting. One firefighter was killed responding to the accident,which destroyed the Boeing 777-300, but all 300 people onboardFlight EK521 managed to escape down just five usable emergencyslides. The accident was the most serious in Emirates’ more thanthree decades of operations, and was the second major airdisaster for a Dubai government-backed airline in less thanfive months. The findings released today in a 28-page report by theUnited Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority werebroadly in line with an Associated Press analysis a day afterthe crash that was based on flight data, air traffic controlcommunications and interviews with aviation experts. Investigators found that the crew received a warningindicating wind shear – a sudden change in wind speed ordirection – as the plane approached Dubai on its return fromThiruvananthapuram, India. Two other planes aborted theirlandings less than 10 minutes before the accident, though twoothers landed normally. As the Emirates plane neared the ground, a headwindstarted to shift to a tailwind and then back again. The right landing gear hit the ground first, with the leftfollowing only three seconds later, according to the report.The nose gear stayed in the air. A warning system alerted the crew of a "long landing,"indicating that the plane had not touched down where it wassupposed to, and the plane took to the air again as the crewtried to make a second landing attempt. Six seconds into the air, the crew began to retract thelanding gear. After making it only about 85 feet off the ground, thetwin-engine plane began to lose altitude. Three seconds beforeimpact, the crew tried to push the jet engines all the wayfrom an idle to full power. Cockpit warnings blared "Don’t sink, don’t sink!" as theengines began to throttle up. It was too late. With the landing gear still retracting, the back of theplane and then the engines hit the runway at 125 knots (144mile per hour). A fuel-fed fire broke out as the right engine ripped offand the plane skidded on its belly before coming to a rest.About nine minutes later, a fuel tank in the center of theplane exploded, killing firefighter Jassim al-Balooshi. Thefire spread into the airplane cabin. Crew members have been praised for getting all thoseonboard evacuated safely. A total of 24 people were injured inthe accident, according to the report. They included a cabincrew member hospitalized for five days because of smokeinhalation. (AP)ABH