Emergency landing for cargo plane
Fire and ambulance crews went on full alert at Chek Lap Kok airport when a cargo plane made an emergency landing yesterday. The pilot of the fully laden Boeing 747 reported a suspected burst tyre after taking off from Shanghai to fly to Astana in Kazakhstan.
Twenty-five fire engines, seven ambulances and four fire boats were put on standby for the Polar Air freighter's landing at 10.30am.
The emergency landing, the second this year at Chek Lap Kok, passed off without incident.
Seven flights - five departures and two arrivals - were disrupted during the incident, with delays lasting about 15 minutes.
Air traffic controllers received a call from Polar Air's head office in the United States informing them that Flight PO723 would make an emergency landing in Hong Kong.
The pilot decided to divert to Chek Lap Kok, rather than land at a mainland airport, because Hong Kong is a hub for the airline.
'That decision is made by the pilot and we respect his decision,' a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Department said. 'When we are told a pilot requires an emergency landing, what we do is get things prepared for that.'
The plane, which suffered some damage to the undercarriage when the tyre blew, will depart today.
