Preliminary report released on Finnair attempted take-off from taxiway incident
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     An investigation is in progress to determine the circumstances and causes of the serious incident involving an Airbus A340-300 aircraft operated by Finnair with registration mark OH-LQD, at Hong Kong International Airport on November 27, 2010.

     At 0124 hours (Hong Kong time) on November 27, Finnair flight FIN070, bound for Helsinki, Finland attempted to take-off after making a wrong turn onto a taxiway. On detecting the anomaly, an air traffic controller instructed the pilot to stop rolling and the attempted take-off was aborted in time. There was no other traffic on the taxiway and there was no injury to persons or damage to the aircraft.

     The Accident Investigation Division of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has initiated an investigation to determine the causes of the incident.  The investigation team comprises qualified inspectors of accidents with professional experience in different aviation disciplines, including air traffic controllers, pilots and aerodrome experts. The Air Accident Investigation Board of Finland and the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile of France, representing respectively the state of registry and state of manufacture of the aircraft involved, have appointed accredited representatives to take part in the investigation.

     The investigation team today (December 23) released a preliminary report on the incident.

     A spokesman for the CAD said that the preliminary report contains facts relating to the incident as determined up to the time of issue and must be regarded as tentative.

     "The investigation team will continue to collect and study all relevant information in order to determine the circumstances and causes of the incident.  More in-depth investigation and analysis work has to be done before any conclusions can be drawn," the spokesman said.

     "This preliminary report is published at this stage for general information," he added.

     The full preliminary report is attached in the annex.  It is also available for download at the CAD webpage (www.cad.gov.hk/english/reports.html).

Ends/Thursday, December 23, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:01

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