The ongoing investigation of the Aug. 3, 2016, accident involving an Emirates Boeing 777-300 attempting to land at Dubai International Airport is working to “determine and analyze the human performance factors that influenced flight crew actions during the landing and attempted go-around,” according to a first anniversary interim statement released by the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The statement, which was released by the GCAA’s Air Accident Investigation Sector, also said that a large number of aircraft systems were tested and that analysis of the data downloaded indicates that there were no system or engine abnormalities before the accident.
The 777 was being operated as Flight EK521 on a scheduled flight from Trivandrum International Airport in India to Dubai when it struck the ground during what investigators said was an attempted go-around. Of the 300 people (282 passengers and 18 crewmembers) on board, 26 suffered minor injuries and four — all cabin crew — suffered serious injuries. A firefighter was fatally injured when the airplane’s center wing fuel tank exploded about nine minutes after the aircraft came to rest.
According to the statement, the investigation has “reviewed and has identified safety enhancements related to the validity of weather information that was passed to the flight crew, and communication between air traffic control and the flight crew.” Those safety enhancements were not detailed in the statement.
