At least 11 people were injured during evacuation after a Cathay Pacific plane suffered a tire blowout during takeoff in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police said on June 24 that Cathay Pacific flight CX880 departing from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, California, USA, had an accident during takeoff in the early morning.
At least three tires blew out, forcing the crew to make an emergency abort of the takeoff, a source familiar with the situation said. The plane braked hard at about 160 mph (258 km/h) and then veered off course toward the landing zone.
The flight was carrying 17 crew members and 293 passengers. As the crew organized passengers to leave the plane via six pontoons through the emergency exits, one man and 10 women were injured. Airline staff were sent to the hospital to assist the injured victims.
Passengers are evacuated from a Cathay Pacific plane at Hong Kong airport in the early morning of June 24. Photo: SCMP
A spokesperson for Hong Kong's airport authority said the crew aborted the takeoff after detecting "abnormal signals" in the system. The Hong Kong airline said the crew had followed "standard procedures".
Selena Lee Sze-wa, 42, a Hong Kong actress, was one of the passengers on the flight. She said the plane braked suddenly at high speed, causing panic among passengers. Some passengers even tried to jostle to get their luggage before evacuating the plane.
"When the captain and flight attendants asked the passengers to evacuate, everyone was worried, screaming and everything became chaotic," Lee recalled.
Lam Sai-hung, the government's secretary for transport and logistics, expressed concern about the Cathay Pacific incident. He said the Civil Aviation Authority of Hong Kong is looking into the matter.
Thanh Danh (According to SCMP )
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