Recovery personnel at Hong Kong have lifted from the water the fuselage of a Boeing 747-400 freighter which suffered a runway excursion on 20 October.
While operating a service for Emirates from Dubai, the AirACT veered off runway 07L, colliding with a security patrol vehicle, before coming to rest in the sea.
The tail section was retrieved on 24 October, enabling the Hong Kong air accident investigation authority to obtain the aircraft’s flight recorders.
Two salvage vessels also picked up one of the 747’s GE Aerospace CF6 engines as well as landing-gear assemblies.
Airport Authority Hong Kong says the fuselage of the jet was lifted on 26 October and placed on a barge.
Images of the recovery indicate that the two starboard engines are still attached to the wing.
“The team will continue to salvage the remaining parts of the aircraft [on 27 October], and is expected to complete all salvage work [in the] evening,” says the authority.
All the sections will be transferred to a storage location to support the crash investigation.
The authority says flight operations at the hub have “remained normal” during the course of the salvage work.
No conclusions have been drawn over the cause of the accident. While the crew of the 747 survived, two security personnel in the vehicle struck were fatally injured.
