VIDEO A cargo plane skidded on landing in Hong Kong and fell into the sea. Two airport employees were killed
Serious accident with a cargo plane at Hong Kong airport. Photo: Vernon Yuen / imago stock&people / Profimedia
Two Hong Kong airport security personnel were killed on Monday morning after a cargo plane coming from Dubai skidded off the runway on landing, collided with their patrol vehicle and pushed it into the sea, the airport operator said, citing Reuters.
The Boeing 747 involved in the airport's worst accident in 25 years also went down in the water, but all four crew members on board escaped.
The two airport security personnel were in respiratory arrest when they were pulled from the water, with one pronounced dead at the scene and the other later in hospital, said Steven Yiu, executive director of airport operations at the Airport Authority of Hong Kong.
The crash at the world's busiest cargo airport involved a plane operated by Turkish carrier ACT Airlines for Emirates, the Dubai-based airline said in a statement.
Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the crash, with weather, runway conditions, the aircraft and crew all part of the investigation, Yiu said. The accident happened around 3:50 a.m. Hong Kong time on Monday.
The pilots reported no technical problems
An air traffic control recording available on LiveATC.net reviewed by Reuters indicated that the pilot of the cargo plane confirmed plans to land on runway 07L, where the accident occurred, but did not report any technical problems in the recording.
“There's been an incident at the airport just now,” a traffic controller said a few minutes later.
Man Ka-chai, head of accident and safety investigation for Hong Kong's Air Accident Investigation Authority, confirmed that air traffic control had directed the flight to land on the northern runway, but added: “We have not received any message from the pilot asking for help.”
Yiu said the security patrol car was responsible for patrolling the northern runway along a road that was outside the runway fence. It was operating in its usual area and “definitely didn't go onto the runway,” he said.
The plane veered sharply to the left after landing on the runway before hitting the car, which was “not a normal trajectory,” he explained.
Flights at Hong Kong airport were not affected, Yiu said, adding that the northern runway of the world's busiest cargo airport, where the incident occurred, would be reopened after safety inspections were completed. The southern and central runways are operating normally, the aviation authority said
images after the crash show the AirACT-marked cargo plane partially submerged in water near the airport's jetty, with the escape chute unfurled and the front and rear sections torn apart.
Two people were killed after a Boeing 747 cargo plane skidded off the runway after arriving at Hong Kong International Airport and landed in the sea, according to the airport authority.
Read more: https://t.co/EILFnsPOWZ pic.twitter.com/mqG3MjvxTq
— ABC News (@ABC) October 20, 2025
New footage of the Air ACT 747 that ran off the runway at Hong Kong International Airport this morning. pic.twitter.com/3tHlBwruwu
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 20, 2025
