A major collision between two Emirates Airline planes was avoided at Dubai airport during take-off on 9 January 2022. Flight EK524 from Dubai to Hyderabad was scheduled to depart at 21:45, and flight EK568 to Bengaluru at 21:50.
Unfortunately, the two planes arrived on a single runway at about the same time.
“EK524 from Dubai-Hyderabad was accelerating for take-off from runway 30R, when the crew saw an aircraft coming in the same direction at high speed. The crew was immediately instructed by ATC to reject take-off at high speed (>100 knots). The aircraft slowed down safely and cleared the runway via taxiway N4, which crossed the runway. Another emirates flight EK-568, from Dubai to Bangalore, was rolling for departure was to take-off from same runway 30R,” a person with knowledge of the incident told Asian News International news agency (ANI).
After ATC intervention, the Emirates flight to Bengaluru (EK568, Boeing 777-300ER registered A6-EBY) took off normally and the Emirates flight to Hyderabad (EK524, Boeing 777-300ER registered A6-EQA) returned to the taxi bay and took off 30 minutes after the rejected take-off.
An investigation has been launched by the UAE’s aviation investigation body, The Air Accident Investigation Sector (AAIS). A serious security breach has been reported to the airlines. Emirates Airline has confirmed the incident and informed ANI of this serious security breach.
“On 9 January, Air Traffic Control instructed flight EK524 to abort takeoff from Dubai, which was successfully done. The aircraft was not damaged,” the Emirates Airline spokesperson told ANI. An internal investigation has also been opened against the crew of the plane. “Safety is always our top priority and, as with any incident, we are conducting our own internal investigation. The incident is also under investigation by the UAE AAIS,” the Emirates spokesperson told ANI.
According to the preliminary report, flight EK524 bound for Hyderabad was taking off without ATC clearance. Emirates had deployed Boeing 777-300ERs to said destinations at the date of the incident. These planes have a capacity of 350 to 440 seats depending on the configuration of the aircraft.
