A Boeing 747 operating a cargo flight on behalf of Emirates just ran off the runway in Hong Kong and ended up in the water, and sadly there’s (at least) one casualty.
Air ACT Boeing 747 veers off Hong Kong runway
This incident happened at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) a little before 4AM local time on Monday, October 20, 2025. It involves Air ACT flight EK9788, which was operating from Dubai World Central (DWC). The flight was operated by a 32-year-old Boeing 747-400 with the registration code TC-ACF.
After a 6hr53min flight, the jumbo jet landed on runway 7L, the airport’s northernmost runway. While exact details remain to be seen, the plane somehow slid off the runway (not at the end, but to the side), and then crashed into the sea. In the process, it somehow struck a ground service vehicle.
The flight crew of four people were all rescued and didn’t sustain serious injuries. However, the two people in the vehicle had a different outcome — they were thrown in the water, and while they were rescued, one has been hospitalized, and one has tragically died.
For context, Air ACT is a Turkish cargo airline, and this flight was being operated on behalf of Emirates Cargo (as you can tell based on the use of Emirates’ code, “EK”). Air ACT only has two Boeing 747-400s… and I guess now it has just one of them.
Let’s see what an investigation into this incident reveals
As of now, there are a lot more questions than answers as to what happened. The weather conditions weren’t bad, so what caused the plane to veer off the runway and into the water? Was the vehicle on the runway while the plane landed, and that’s what sent the plane off the runway? Or did the plane hit the vehicle after going off the runway?
To state the obvious, it’s absolutely surreal to see a Boeing 747 simply floating in the sea, broken into parts. And what a tragedy that a life was claimed in this incident. If there’s any silver lining, at least this wasn’t a passenger flight, where the potential injuries and casualties could’ve been much higher.
Bottom line
An Air ACT Boeing 747 operating on behalf of Emirates had an awful accident early Monday morning, as it skid off the runway and plunged into the sea. While the entire crew was rescued without injury, unfortunately the plane also hit a vehicle on the ground, which had two people in it. Sadly one person lost their life, and another sustained injuries.
My thoughts are with the family of the person who lost their life and the injured person… how sad. It’ll be interesting to see what an investigation into this incident reveals.
What do you make of this Boeing 747 incident in Hong Kong?
