Emirates Flight 407
The damage done to the tail | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 March 2009 |
| Summary | Tailstrike on takeoff and runway overrun due to pilot error |
| Site | Melbourne Airport, Melbourne, Australia 37°40′14″S 144°50′17″E / 37.67056°S 144.83806°E |
| Aircraft | |
| A6-ERG, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 2007 | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A340-541 |
| Operator | Emirates |
| IATA flight No. | EK407 |
| ICAO flight No. | UAE407 |
| Call sign | EMIRATES 407 |
| Registration | A6-ERG |
| Flight origin | Auckland Airport, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Stopover | Melbourne Airport Melbourne, Australia |
| Destination | Dubai International Airport, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Occupants | 275 |
| Passengers | 257 |
| Crew | 18 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 275 |
Emirates Flight 407 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Emirates from Auckland to Dubai with a stopover in Melbourne, operated by an Airbus A340-500 aircraft. On 20 March 2009, the flight failed to take off properly at Melbourne Airport, hitting several structures at the end of the runway before climbing and then returning to the airport for a safe landing. Although no fatalities or injuries resulted, damage to the aircraft was severe enough for the event to be classified by Australian Transport Safety Bureau as an "accident". It was subsequently determined that a data-entry error resulted in insufficient engine thrust during take off. It has been described "as close as we have ever come to a major aviation catastrophe in Australia" by aviation officials.