An accident occurred at Hong Kong International Airport in the early morning of the 24th, causing 11 passengers to be injured and sent to hospital, of which 9 have been discharged. According to the website of Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily, the Hong Kong Airport Authority said that Cathay Pacific's CX24 flight, which was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles at 05:880 on the <>th, stopped taking off due to abnormal signals and returned to the parking position, and then opened the emergency escape ladder for emergency evacuation.
It was said that there were 17 crew members and 293 passengers on board. Chan Heng-pan, chairman of the Transport Committee of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that the accident stemmed from the failure of the cockpit dashboard display when the passenger plane was preparing to take off, and the crew braked sharply, causing the tire to blow out. Worried about a fire caused by overheating tires, the crew decided to return to the parking position and open the escape ladder to allow passengers to escape, and some passengers were injured in the process of escape. Cathay Pacific issued a statement saying it apologized for the inconvenience caused to passengers and would cooperate with the investigation. It is reported that Cathay Pacific has arranged for the affected passengers to stay in hotels to rest, and deployed another aircraft to carry out the mission of CX880 flight to Los Angeles, and arrange other flights to destinations for passengers who need to transfer locally. Cathay Pacific also mentioned that it has arranged for employees to travel to hospitals to provide needed assistance to passengers and their families.
Hong Kong Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Lin Shixiong, said on the 24th that relevant parties are highly concerned about this matter and expressed condolences to passengers. He emphasised that the Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Authority will follow up on incidents in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Regulations to enhance the safety of aircraft passengers and prevent the recurrence of accidents or incidents.
Zhan Wing-nian, spokesman for the aviation division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said that before the plane accelerated on the runway to prepare for takeoff, the crew found that there was a technical problem and chose to stop the emergency stop, which is a normal procedure. Zhan Yongnian explained that under normal circumstances, when the tire temperature is too high and exceeds a certain standard, it will automatically deflate to avoid a puncture, which is a protection mechanism. In response to why the aircraft involved did not immediately evacuate in place after braking, but turned back to the parking port to release the escape slide, Zhan Yongnian said that when and where to evacuate depends on the situation at that time, and basically respect their decision.