An Emirates airline flight crash-landed at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday with all 300 people on board surviving, though one firefighter died while responding to the incident.
Flight EK521 was traveling from Thiruvananthapuram in southern India when it approached Dubai at 12:45 p.m. local time. The aircraft’s landing gear experienced a malfunction, prompting the pilot to declare an emergency landing, according to passenger accounts.
Images from the scene showed the plane engulfed in flames on the runway, with smoke visible across the airport. Social media users documented the emergency as it unfolded.
What Happened
The 282 passengers and 18 crew members evacuated the aircraft within minutes after cabin crew opened all emergency exits. Emirates Chairman and CEO Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum confirmed that 10 individuals were hospitalized following the incident.
Wind shear, or sudden downdrafts, were detected at the airport during the aircraft’s descent, though investigators have not determined whether this factor contributed to the crash-landing. The airline has not released additional details about the cause of the landing gear failure.
One firefighter lost his life while responding to the emergency, according to the airline’s chairman.
Passenger Details and Response
The flight carried passengers from 20 countries, including 226 from India, 24 from Britain, 11 from the United Arab Emirates, six U.S. citizens, six from Saudi Arabia, and citizens from Turkey, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, the Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, and Tunisia.
A passenger named Iype Vallikadan told the Associated Press that the pilot had announced the landing gear malfunction before the emergency landing was executed. Saif Mohamed Al Suwaidi, director general of Dubai’s General Civil Aviation Authority, stated, “Our primary concern at this moment is the safety and well-being of all passengers and cabin crew.”
Investigation and Airport Impact
Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board have assembled technical teams to assist with the investigation alongside the General Civil Aviation Authority. The investigation team has been activated to determine the cause of the incident.
Dubai International Airport, the busiest in the region with 78 million passengers in the previous year, experienced approximately six hours of flight delays. Operations resumed shortly before 7 p.m. local time.
Emirates, founded in 1985, has maintained a strong safety record as the largest airline in the Middle East.
This story has been updated. CNN’s aviation and international teams contributed to this report.
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