Emirates Flight 407

Emirates

Industry	Airline
Founded	October 25, 1985 (1985-10-25)
Founder	Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Headquarters	Dubai , United Arab Emirates
Area served	International
Key people	Tim Clark (President)
Products	Passenger air transport
Owner	Government of Dubai (Investment Corporation of Dubai)
Number of employees	59,519 (2023)
Website	www.emirates.com

Emirates Flight 407 was an international passenger service operated by Emirates, flying from Auckland to Dubai with a scheduled stop in Melbourne. The aircraft used was an Airbus A340-500. On 20 March 2009, during takeoff at Melbourne Airport, the flight encountered difficulties, colliding with several structures beyond the runway before gaining altitude and safely returning to land. Although there were no casualties or injuries, the incident caused significant damage, prompting the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to categorize it as an "accident." The root cause was identified as an error in data input, which led to inadequate engine thrust during takeoff. Aviation authorities described the event as "the closest Australia has come to a major aviation disaster."

Chronology

The aircraft commenced its departure from Melbourne at 22:30, utilizing runway 16, which measures long. The captain called for rotation at a point before the runway’s end at . However, the plane failed to become airborne as expected, resulting in the tail scraping and striking the runway surface. In response, the captain engaged maximum thrust by moving the takeoff/go-around lever fully forward. After using up the available runway length, the aircraft finally lifted off just beyond its conclusion. Reflecting on the event, the captain remarked, "I thought we were going to die. It was that close."

During this critical phase, the aircraft collided with a strobe light and caused damage to the localiser antenna array located past the runway’s end, narrowly avoiding impact with the airport’s perimeter fence situated further beyond.

Following liftoff, the plane ascended over Port Phillip Bay. The first officer then checked takeoff parameters on his electronic flight bag and discovered that the aircraft's weight had been underestimated by 100 tonnes (262.9 instead of 362.9 tonnes). This miscalculation led to an incorrect flex temp setting, which produced insufficient engine thrust and inadequate acceleration.

By 23:27, pilots had completed fuel dumping procedures and reported smoke detected within the cabin. Air traffic control promptly authorized an immediate return. The aircraft landed without further complications at 23:36.

Aircraft damage and repair

Although the A340-500 is equipped with tailstrike protection systems, the forceful tail contact with the runway during takeoff caused severe damage to the rear pressure bulkhead and adjacent structural components. Additionally, substantial harm was inflicted on the underside of the fuselage, where a significant section of external surface material was stripped away.

The airplane was not declared a total loss; instead, it was flown unpressurized at low altitude from Melbourne to Toulouse on 19 June for repairs by Airbus, making stops at Perth, Singapore, Dubai, and Cairo, maintaining flight levels below .

Registered as A6-ERG, this A340-500 was delivered to Emirates on November 30, 2004. Following repairs, it returned to commercial service on 1 December 2009 under flight number EK424, operating short- and medium-haul international routes out of Dubai until it was retired in October 2014. Subsequently, it was stored at Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport.

Aircrew

After conducting investigative interviews, both pilots returned to Dubai and were requested by Emirates to tender their resignations, which they did willingly.

The captain had obtained only six hours of sleep within the 24-hour period preceding the accident, whereas the first officer had rested for eight hours. In the month prior to the incident, the captain accumulated 99 flight hours—just below Emirates’ regulatory cap of 100 hours—and the first officer recorded 90 hours.

Investigation

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) spearheaded the inquiry into the accident, concentrating on the first officer’s use of inaccurate aircraft weight information, the failure to detect this mistake before departure, and the crew’s inability to notice the unusually slow acceleration until nearly reaching the runway’s end.

Research revealed that flight crews may have difficulty identifying erroneous data input into avionics systems, which can result in suboptimal takeoff performance. Consequently, the ATSB issued safety recommendations to the United States Federal Aviation Administration and provided advisories to both the International Air Transport Association and Flight Safety Foundation. Airbus initiated development of software designed to assist pilots in recognizing abnormal or deficient takeoff performance.

In October 2011, the ATSB determined that human error was the primary cause of the event and advocated for technological solutions that would alert pilots when incorrect data is entered or when takeoff speed is inadequate.

In response, Emirates updated its preflight protocols by mandating dual laptops for preflight planning to ensure redundant data entry verification. The airline is also working on a system to monitor takeoff acceleration and provide alerts. Airbus enhanced its software capabilities to detect faulty data inputs and announced plans to integrate a program that calculates necessary runway length. Additionally, Airbus is developing a monitoring tool that evaluates required acceleration rates, applies a "reasonableness test" to input parameters, and notifies pilots of potential discrepancies.

In popular culture

This event is depicted in season 2, episode "Take-off" of the television series Aircrash Confidential.

See also

• MK Airlines Flight 1602
• Comair Flight 5191
• Pan Am Flight 845

External links

Australian Transport Safety Bureau Aviation Occurrence Investigation AO-2009-012 "Tailstrike and runway overrun - Airbus A340-541, A6-ERG, Melbourne Airport, Victoria, 20 March 2009"

• Summary
• Preliminary Report (30 April 2009)
• Interim Factual Report (18 December 2009)
• Final Report (16 December 2011)

Other external links:

• Emirates near-miss Photo Gallery, ATSB Transport Safety Report, Herald Sun (archived)