HONG KONG — Cathay Pacific flight CX880 thwarts disaster with emergency brake application at Hong Kong Airport.
A near catastrophe was narrowly averted at Hong Kong International Airport when a Cathay Pacific Airways flight was forced to deploy its brakes during a high-speed take-off attempt SCMP reports. As we understand, the abrupt halt led to significant damage to multiple tyres which subsequently caught fire.
The abrupt halt was necessitated due to an anomaly detected in the device that measures wind speed and direction. The incident, not a common occurrence in aviation, led to the injury of 11 passengers during the evacuation process. Among these, two individuals with bone fractures remained under medical care as of Saturday evening.
Insider reports suggest the cockpit crew initially discovered the technical malfunction while the Boeing 777-300ER, Flight CX880 en route to Los Angeles, was taxiing on the runway in preparation for take-off. The flight had 293 passengers and a crew of 17 on board.
Our source provided further insight into the intensity of the incident, sharing, "Due to the abrupt deceleration, damage was sustained by 12 tyres. The cockpit's surveillance system picked up signs of fire on these tyres."
The aircraft, which had picked up considerable speed, was clocked at 154 knots (285km/h) on the south runway when the emergency brakes were engaged. Following the incident, it was safely navigated back to its designated gate.
