Investigators in the Middle East have yet to ascertain how an Iranian Tupolev Tu-154M came to land on a closed runway at Dubai International airport, suffering damage apparently from impact with construction-related debris, writes David Kaminski-Morrow.
Kish Air flight Y9 7106 was arriving from the Iranian city of Tabriz on 25 June, but landed on Dubai’s runway 30L/12R, which had been closed during work to expand the airport. The work includes staggering Dubai’s parallel runway system.
The 16-year-old Tu-154, registered EP-LBR, and one of a pair in the Kish Air fleet, sustained damage to its undercarriage. The airport’s firefighting service attended the scene to deal with a suspected fuel leak. None of the 70 passengers and 12 crew was injured.
The department of civil aviation, which manages the airport, says that the incident did not affect operations on the airport’s active runway 30R/12L.
While the precise circumstances of the incident have not been determined, the United Arab Emirates’ Department of Civil Aviation claims that “human error” was responsible. The Tu-154 is to be examined by the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority, which is conducting the inquiry.
Source: Flight International
