Boeing 777-300

Emirates

On 3 August 2016, an Emirates Boeing 777-31H Aircraft, registration A6-EMW, operating a scheduled passenger flight UAE521, departed Trivandrum International Airport (VOTV), India, at 0506 UTC for a 3 hour 30 minute flight to Dubai International Airport (OMDB), the United Arab Emirates, with 282 passengers, 2 flight crew and 16 cabin crew members on board. The Commander attempted to perform a tailwind manual landing during an automatic terminal information service (ATIS) forecasted moderate windshear warning affecting all runways at OMDB. The tailwind was within the operational limitations of the Aircraft. During the landing on runway 12L at OMDB the Commander, who was the pilot flying, decided to fly a go-around, as he was unable to land the Aircraft within the runway touchdown zone. The go-around decision was based on the perception that the Aircraft would not land due to thermals and not due to a windshear encounter. For this reason, the Commander elected to fly a normal go-around and not the windshear escape maneuver. The flight crew initiated the flight crew operations manual (FCOM) Go-around and Missed Approach Procedure and the Commander pushed the TO/GA switch. As designed, because the Aircraft had touched down, the TO/GA switches became inhibited and had no effect on the autothrottle (A/T). The flight crew stated that they were not aware of the touchdown that lasted for six seconds. After becoming airborne during the go-around attempt, the Aircraft climbed to a height of 85 ft radio altitude above the runway surface. The flight crew did not observe that both thrust levers had remained at the idle position and that the engine thrust remained at idle. The Aircraft quickly sank towards the runway as the airspeed was insufficient to support the climb. As the Aircraft lost height and speed, the Commander initiated the windshear escape maneuver procedure and rapidly advanced both thrust levers. This action was too late to avoid the impact with runway 12L. Eighteen seconds after the initiation of the go-around the Aircraft impacted the runway at 0837:38 UTC and slid on its lower fuselage along the runway surface for approximately 32 seconds covering a distance of approximately 800 meters before coming to rest adjacent to taxiway Mike 13. The Aircraft remained intact during its movement along the runway protecting the occupants however, several fuselage mounted components and the No.2 engine/pylon assembly separated from the Aircraft. During the evacuation, several passenger door escape slides became unusable. Many passengers evacuated the Aircraft taking their carry-on baggage with them. Except for the Commander and the senior cabin crew member who evacuated after the center wing tank explosion, all of the other occupants evacuated via the operational escape slides in approximately 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Twenty-one passengers, one flight crewmember, and six cabin crew members sustained minor injuries. Four cabin crew members sustained serious injuries. Approximately 9 minutes and 40 seconds after the Aircraft came to rest, the center wing tank exploded which caused a large section of the right wing upper skin to be liberated. As the panel fell to the ground, it struck and fatally injured a firefighter. The Aircraft was eventually destroyed due to the subsequent fire. Following the Accident, the Operator (Emirates), the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Dubai Airports and Dubai Air Navigation Services (‘dans’) implemented several safety actions. In this Final Report, the AAIS issues safety recommendations addressed to the Operator, the GCAA, The Boeing Company, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Dubai Airports, ‘dans’, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).