It was its second flight of the day before landing at Dubai International airport on Wednesday around 12:50pm.
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Meanwhile, the flight records indicate that the plane flew a number of routes in the days preceding the incident, including flights between Dubai and Tunis and between Tunis and Luqa (Malta) on August 2, and between Dubai and Abuja and back on August 1.
The director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority, Saif al-Suwaidi, said that investigators had been sent to work with Emirates and the Dubai airport authorities.
Emirates has noted that the 282 passengers are from 20 nationalities, including 24 Britishers and 11 from UAE. “As we were landing there was smoke coming out in the cabin”, passenger Sharon Maryam Sharji said.
While the cause of the accident is not yet clear, CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest said images of the airliner could indicate that the front landing gear collapsed and that the plane slid.
The accident was the most serious ever for Emirates, which has grown at a breakneck pace over the last three decades and turned its hometown of Dubai into a major long-haul global air hub.
With a commendable despatch reliability rate, Ahmad said, “the 777 is not just the backbone of Emirates’ fleet, but it is also regarded as the backbone of all worldwide airlines that operate the type”.
Planemaker Boeing said in a statement it was monitoring the situation in Dubai and it would be working with Emirates to gather more information. The Emirates flight, flying directly from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai, was immensely popular with people from the state. “Thankfully, there was not fatalities among our passengers and crew”.
The Boeing 777 was carrying 282 passengers and 18 crew members, according to the airline, which had earlier provided a lower figure.
A damaged Boeing 777 is seen at the Dubai airport after it crash-landed, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016.
The accident happened as Flight EK521 was arriving from the southern Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram.
According to Quest, Dubai-based Emirates is the largest airline in the world by available seat kilometers, while Dubai (DBX) is now the busiest worldwide airport for global passengers. Video shot by a passenger on another flight showed the plane tilted to its right side and careening on its belly as thick smoke poured out.
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The company said its main priority was to those involved and offering support to concerned family and friends and set up a United Kingdom telephone line for family members 00442034508853.
