Hong Kong investigates Atlas Air emergency landing, 8-hour runway closure

The Boeing 747-400 cargo jet operated by Atlas Air returned to Hong Kong International Airport about two hours after departure on Monday morning when the crew noticed a hydraulic system failure prevented a landing gear from retracting. The plane, which was bound for Chicago with a technical stop scheduled in Anchorage, Alaska, suffered two burst tires and damage to the wheel rims when touching down on the north runway. It was disabled for eight hours. None of the five crew members was injured. Also, multiple airfield ground light fittings and runway pavement surface were damaged and required emergency repair.

The North Runway had to be closed to retrieve the aircraft and repair the runway The rescue process involved lifting the 330-ton aircraft to change the tires. All cargo had to be off-loaded first. Significant hydraulic leakage from the aircraft body and the extensive wheel damage complicated the lifting process, increasing the time it took to replace the tires and tow the aircraft off the runway, the airport authority said in an e-mail.   

Hong Kong airport has two operational runways. 

John Lee, the city’s chief executive, said the airport followed procedures for safely removing the aircraft, which required first removing the cargo and replacing a set of tires, according to the transcript of a press conference that covered a range of topics. 

New York-headquartered Atlas Air will be required to submit a report to the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and the airport about the hydraulic system system failure. Lee said authorities will carefully review the report to learn lessons about actions the airline, the airport or other responders can take in the event of future incidents.

“Upon taking off from HKG on June 17, pilots of Atlas Air Flight 5Y4304 suspected a tire issue in one of its 16 main gear tires. The crew followed all standard procedures and returned safely to HKG.  We are cooperating fully with the Hong Kong Air Accident Investigation Authority.,” the airline said in a statement to FreightWaves. “At Atlas, safety is always our top priority, and we are fully confident in our Flight Operations and maintenance programs. The aircraft will be returned to service following repairs.”

It is the third time this month that Atlas Air has experienced tire and gear issues. On June 11, a 747-400 dumped fuel and returned to Incheon airport in Seoul, South Korea, after pilots detected a hydraulic failure. Three tires on one of the rear body gears were damaged, and the aircraft was stuck on the runway for several hours, according to air mission notices from Korean civil aviation authorities and reporting by the Aviation Herald. The aviation blog said the two tires separated during takeoff, cutting the hydraulic line to the landing gear. Photos show the aircraft suffered damage on the underside. 

The same aircraft suffered a blown tire nine days earlier landing at Los Angeles International Airport. The aircraft safely taxied to the apron and departed nine hours later to Mexico City.

The freighter has not flown from Incheon since the incident, according to flight tracking site Flightaware.

On Jan. 18, an Atlas Air 747-8 experienced an engine fire climbing out of Miami and returned to the airport there. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation found that a maintenance contractor performing a borescope inspection several days prior to the incident forgot to close the access plug. 

Several weeks ago, an Atlas Air jumbo jet clipped a building with its wing at Fort Lauderdale airport, according to a Federal Aviation Administration incident board, but proceeded to fly to Miami within a couple hours without incident. The plane was forced to divert to FLL, 30 miles north of Miami International Airport, because of thunderstorms.

Tire bursts are not unusual, but a series of them in a short span would likely spur an airline to look at data to determine if any underlying cause connects the events and requires action, aviation safety experts say. 

Click here for more FreightWaves stories by Eric Kulisch.

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