Speaking to the crash after landing in Dubai, the ex-airline steward said in preparation for release of emergency slides, the crew would have been aware of outside conditions and are trained to blockade the aircraft doors as they inflate.
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The chairman and CEO of Emirates airline says a firefighter was killed while responding to one of the carrier’s airplanes crash-landing in Dubai.
The Dubai Media Office says departure and arrival operations at Dubai International Airport have resumed after several hours of delays caused by the crash landing of an Emirates Airline flight.
Aviation experts are investigating whether faulty landing gear could have caused a plane to crash at Dubai global airport and burst into flames, killing a firefighter tackling the blaze, although all 300 passengers and crew were able to escape.
A part of the engine of the Boeing 777 appeared to have fallen off after the violent landing at the Dubai International Airport, which was immediately shut for all landings and take-offs.
There were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board. But the Indian state is also a popular holiday destination, for which Dubai serves as a connection, and there were 20 nationalities on board including the 24 from the UK, 11 from the United Arab Emirates and six each from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Those onboard included 226 Indians, 24 Britons, 11 Emiratis, and six each from the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Iype Vallikadan, a reporter from Indian newspaper Mathrubhumi News, told the Associated Press that passengers said the pilot spoke to them as the plane neared Dubai, saying there was a problem with the landing gear and that he would make an emergency landing.
“In no time the cabin was filled with smoke”.
The budget carrier further said that it had arranged alternate mode of travel for passengers of the diverted flights to reach Dubai city.
“We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew”.
Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala.
Hundreds of thousands of Kerala residents work in the Gulf countries and Indians made up the majority of those on board. 107 passengers opted to continue on their journeys and remained airside where they were provided with refreshments, rest areas, and other necessities, while Emirates rebooked them on the next possible flights. American and British investigators will participate in the probe because the Boeing plane was built in the USA and was powered by British-made Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines.
Video purportedly showed a tower of flame bursting from the front of the aircraft, and then a thick black plume of smoke rising into the sky.
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Dubai-based Emirates says its “main priority now is the safety and well-being of all involved”.
