An investigation into an incident involving an arriving Siberia Airlines cargo plane that disrupted runway operations at Hong Kong International Airport for 90 minutes in 2021 has found that the incident was caused by the crew’s lack of knowledge of an unopened paved area, which they mistook for the assigned runway exit.
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The report, published on Thursday by the Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA), revealed that when the freighter exited the runway via taxiway A7 under air traffic control directions, it unintentionally taxied onto a paved area that had not yet been commissioned for operational use.
The freighter, SBI8817, flying from Irkutsk International Airport, stopped in front of marker boards in the unopened area.
“The investigation identified that the flight crew members concerned had no prior knowledge of the presence of the paved and unopened area at Hong Kong International Airport and mistook the area for the assigned runway exit,” the report said.
No injuries or damage to the aircraft, runway or airport facilities were reported.
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The freighter landed on the then-north runway of the airport at 12.03am on October 14, 2021, before entering an area under construction.
