Tail of A6-ERG after landing |
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 March 2009 |
| Type | Tailstrike on takeoff |
| Site | Melbourne, Australia |
| Passengers | 257 |
| Crew | 18 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 275 |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A340-500 |
| Operator | Emirates |
| Tail number | A6-ERG |
| Flight origin | Auckland International Airport |
| Stopover | Melbourne Airport |
| Destination | Dubai International Airport |
Emirates Airline Flight 407 is an Emirates flight flying from Melbourne to Dubai using the Airbus A340-500. On 20 March 2009, the flight failed to take off properly at Melbourne Airport, hitting several structures at the end of the runway before eventually climbing enough to return to the airport for a safe landing. In spite of the fact that no fatalities or injuries resulted from this accident, it was severe enough to be classified by Australian Transport Safety Bureau as a significant event and thereby categorized as an accident by the authority.
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The scheduled flight departed from Melbourne as planned at 22:30 using the 3,657-metre (11,998 ft) long Runway 16. However, after exhausting the entire length of the runway, the aircraft failed to become airborne. Reaching the end of the runway, travelling at a speed of 280 kilometres per hour (174 mph), the captain ordered the first officer to rotate. As the aircraft pitched upward and failed to leave the ground, the tail section crashed into the ground and continued to scrape along the runway. According to the crew,[1][2] the captain took over the controls and applied maximum thrust on all four engines by using the Take-off/Go-around (TOGA) switches.[3] As a result, the aircraft eventually left the ground, but, at 170 m (558 ft) beyond the end of the runway, it was only able to achieve an altitude of 70 cm (2 ft) above the ground. Subsequently, it took out a 200 m (656 ft) stretch of strobe lights at the end of the runway and continued to climb with difficulties. At 350 m (1,148 ft) beyond the end of the runway, the landing gear hit and damaged the 180 cm (6 ft) high localiser antenna array operated by Airservices Australia. At 500 m (1,640 ft) beyond the end of the runway, the aircraft barely missed the 2.24 m (7 ft) tall airport perimeter fence. It was also reported that after clearing the airport perimeter, the aircraft only cleared a small brick building by 50 cm (20 in). The aircraft eventually climbed away over Port Phillip Bay. The pilots finished dumping fuel over the bay by 23:27 then they received a report of smoke in the cabin. They requested an immediate return, which ATC granted, and they returned to the airport at 23:36 with no further incidents.[3]
Despite having tailstrike protection built-in on the A340-500, it was later determined that the rear pressure bulkhead and the underlying structure were severely damaged during the take-off roll when the pilots attempted to rotate and the tail struck the runway with considerable force. The aircraft also suffered extensive damage to the hull as it scraped along the runway, a large surface having been completely stripped of its external sheet.[4] The accident investigation was performed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). During the investigation, it was discovered that the jet had experienced at least one but possibly three or more tail strikes during previous take-off rolls. The jet was broken down to the underlying ribs or stringers in one area, in a part of the tail structure where the critical rear pressure bulkhead may also have been damaged. A preliminary[5] and an interim ATSB report[3] suggest that the takeoff weight, used to calculate take-off power, was underestimated by 100 tonnes[1][6] when the first officer entered 262.9 in lieu of 362.9 (tonnes) into the electronic flight bag system. The aircraft was not written off, but was instead returned to Airbus by way of a low altitude flight without pressurisation routed from Melbourne to Toulouse on 19 June via Perth, Singapore, Dubai and Cairo with the crew flying below 12000 feet.[7]
The aircraft made its first revenue flight after repairs on 1 December 2009 as flight EK424.[8]
The accident has been described "as close as we have ever come to a major aviation catastrophe in Australia" by aviation officials.[9]
After being interviewed by investigators, the two pilots of the flight returned to Dubai.[10] In an interview to a Melbourne newspaper, the pilot of Flight 407 revealed he had slept for only three and a half hours during the twenty-four hour period preceding the accident. The pilot, who asked for his identity not to be revealed to the public, said:[2]
| “ | I thought we were going to die. It was that close. | ” |
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—Captain, Emirates Flight 407[1] |
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On the subject of fatigue, he mentioned he had flown a total 99 hours during the prior month, one hour short of the maximum 100 flying-hours allowed by Emirates. The pilot and the first officer were asked to resign from Emirates upon their arrival in Dubai.[1][2] The pilots subsequently resigned from the airline.[11]
The ATSB investigation[3] found that an incorrect flex temp was applied, based on an incorrectly entered aircraft weight. This resulted in a lower than necessary engine thrust and consequently insufficient acceleration and airspeed.
Cases of improper repair after a tailstrike causing fatal structural failure in flight years after the tailstrike:
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