Lufthansa Cargo Flight 8460
Encyclopedia
Lufthansa Cargo
Flight 8460 was an international cargo flight, operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-11
, which, on 27 July 2010, crashed upon landing at King Khalid International Airport
, Riyadh
, Saudi Arabia
.
registered D-ALCQ, msn 48431, line number 534. The aircraft was delivered to Alitalia in 1993 as I-DUPB Pietro Mascagni
and converted to a cargo aircraft in 2004. At the time of the accident, D-ALCQ had completed 10,075 cycles and accumulated 73,200 hours flying time.
, Germany
to Hong Kong
via Riyadh
Saudi Arabia
and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
.
Black smoke was reportedly coming from the aircraft whilst it was descending to land at King Khalid International Airport
, Riyadh
, before it crashed and the fuselage broke in half. The accident happened at 11:38 local time
(08:38 UTC
). Minutes after the crash, Reuters
stated that there were no casualties as a result of the accident, although the captain and first officer were being treated in hospital. "The firefighters are containing the fire," a spokesperson for the General Authority of Civil Aviation told reporters.
The METAR
in force at the time of the accident was METAR OERK 270900Z 32014KT CAVOK 40/05 Q1006 NOSIG=
opened an investigation into the accident. It was confirmed that a fire had been reported by the crew of Flight 8460 before the aircraft landed. It was reported that a hard landing led to the aircraft breaking up and then departing the runway. It was also confimed that the aircraft was carrying flammable chemicals, which were loaded in the area where the fire started. Other cargo included weapons and other military hardware.
In September 2010, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung) revealed that the aircraft had bounced three times on landing. The third bounce registered at 4.3g
. It caused the fuselage of the aircraft to fail at a point aft of the wings. The main landing gear also failed after that bounce. The aircraft subsequently departed the runway and came to a halt.
Lufthansa Cargo
Lufthansa Cargo AG is a cargo airline from Germany, operating worldwide air freight and logistics services on behalf of Lufthansa, of which it is a wholly owned subsidiary. The company is headquartered in Building 451 of the Frankfurt Airport area in Frankfurt, the major hub of Lufthansa...
Flight 8460 was an international cargo flight, operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-11
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a three-engine medium- to long-range widebody jet airliner, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and, later, by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Based on the DC-10, it features a stretched fuselage, increased wingspan with winglets, refined airfoils on the wing and smaller...
, which, on 27 July 2010, crashed upon landing at King Khalid International Airport
King Khalid International Airport
King Khalid International Airport is located north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by the architectural firm HOK.The airport includes the terminals, mosque, the control tower and two parallel runways, each long...
, Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a three-engine medium- to long-range widebody jet airliner, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and, later, by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Based on the DC-10, it features a stretched fuselage, increased wingspan with winglets, refined airfoils on the wing and smaller...
registered D-ALCQ, msn 48431, line number 534. The aircraft was delivered to Alitalia in 1993 as I-DUPB Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music...
and converted to a cargo aircraft in 2004. At the time of the accident, D-ALCQ had completed 10,075 cycles and accumulated 73,200 hours flying time.
Accident
Flight 8460 was an international scheduled cargo flight from FrankfurtFrankfurt International Airport
Frankfurt am Main Airport , or simply Frankfurt Airport, known in German as Flughafen Frankfurt am Main or Rhein-Main-Flughafen, is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, Germany, southwest of the city centre....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to Hong Kong
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...
via Riyadh
King Khalid International Airport
King Khalid International Airport is located north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by the architectural firm HOK.The airport includes the terminals, mosque, the control tower and two parallel runways, each long...
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
Black smoke was reportedly coming from the aircraft whilst it was descending to land at King Khalid International Airport
King Khalid International Airport
King Khalid International Airport is located north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by the architectural firm HOK.The airport includes the terminals, mosque, the control tower and two parallel runways, each long...
, Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, before it crashed and the fuselage broke in half. The accident happened at 11:38 local time
UTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-East Africa Time:*Comoros*Djibouti*Eritrea*Ethiopia*Kenya*Madagascar...
(08:38 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
). Minutes after the crash, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
stated that there were no casualties as a result of the accident, although the captain and first officer were being treated in hospital. "The firefighters are containing the fire," a spokesperson for the General Authority of Civil Aviation told reporters.
The METAR
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
in force at the time of the accident was METAR OERK 270900Z 32014KT CAVOK 40/05 Q1006 NOSIG=
Investigation
The General Authority of Civil AviationGeneral Authority of Civil Aviation
The General Authority Of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia is the national institution of Saudi Arabia in charge of aviation and related matters, headquartered in Jeddah....
opened an investigation into the accident. It was confirmed that a fire had been reported by the crew of Flight 8460 before the aircraft landed. It was reported that a hard landing led to the aircraft breaking up and then departing the runway. It was also confimed that the aircraft was carrying flammable chemicals, which were loaded in the area where the fire started. Other cargo included weapons and other military hardware.
In September 2010, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung) revealed that the aircraft had bounced three times on landing. The third bounce registered at 4.3g
G-force
The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
. It caused the fuselage of the aircraft to fail at a point aft of the wings. The main landing gear also failed after that bounce. The aircraft subsequently departed the runway and came to a halt.
External links
- Lufthansa Cargo plane accident in Riyadh, 27 JUL 4.15 p. m. LT FRA - Lufthansa CargoLufthansa CargoLufthansa Cargo AG is a cargo airline from Germany, operating worldwide air freight and logistics services on behalf of Lufthansa, of which it is a wholly owned subsidiary. The company is headquartered in Building 451 of the Frankfurt Airport area in Frankfurt, the major hub of Lufthansa...
- Lufthansa Cargo plane accident in Riyadh, 27 JUL, 2 p. m. LT FRA - Lufthansa Cargo
- Lufthansa Cargo plane crash in Riyadh - Lufthansa Cargo
- Report with photographs of the accident aircraft (in Arabic)