Hong Kong runway on standby a day after plane crash, crew to be questioned

The north runway of Hong Kong airport was expected to reopen on standby mode by noon on Tuesday, 32 hours after an Emirates cargo plane veered off it and struck a ground vehicle, sending it into the sea and killing two security workers, the airport operator has said.

A source also said the Air Incident Investigation Authority was expected to meet the four Turkish crew members on the flight as part of investigations on Tuesday, with police questioning them afterwards. The four were not prevented from leaving the city, the insider added.

Steven Yiu Siu-chung, the Airport Authority’s executive director of airport operations, said on Tuesday that repairs to the north runway had been completed at 7am, with authorities aiming to reopen it by noon.

“The wreckage is still in the sea, and we need to send vehicles and crane vessels [to salvage it], so the reopened runway will be kept on standby, but it is safe for normal flight operations,” he said.

“With the No 3 storm signal still in force, it is not suitable for salvage work, but we will remove the wreckage as soon as possible when conditions allow.”

The Hong Kong Observatory earlier said the No 3 typhoon signal would remain in force until at least 6pm on Tuesday.