Two weeks ago, Emirates, one of the world’s most powerful airlines, faced a major accident at its Dubai International hub.

282 passengers and 18 crew members, coming from Thiruvananthapuram airport in India, on flight EK521, managed to miraculously escape from the cabin of the Boeing-777-300ER which was caught by flames.

This accident, the first of such importance for a Gulf Major, already shows one thing: these airlines are not infallible.

It also shows that, even if the company’s communication plan was effective, the interventionism of the authorities indicates a certain lack of maturity of the political regimes that govern these regions of the world.

The Facts

The flight took off at 10:34 local time from Thiruvananthapuram airport. Between this moment and the landing, at 12:34 local time, we have for the moment only few elements on what really happened.
We have, however, several sources that allow us to know more about what happened at the landing:

• An air traffic control recordingallowing to hear the radio communications before the accident.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULhlvu44eDo Little information on the pre-crisis, except a request for TOGA of the control to the plane, then silence, including to the proposals of help.
• Several video recordings of the moment of the crash, like the one presented below:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lyjRefyufgOn this video, several elements are intriguing:
  1. The left engine seems to have separated from the aircraft, probably under the impact of the violent landing. We imagine that this loss of a key element of the aircraft prevented a clean maneuver after the touchdown of the aircraft;
  2. The non-deployed landing gear, which is either a cause or a consequence of the accident. What is sure is that it is a probable cause of the fire that will ravage the aircraft once it is stopped. With these elements, it is difficult to determine the origin of the accident, as both human and technical faults are possible.
• Several videos of the evacuation of the aircraft which are distressing from several points of view:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YxCyeaOVOU
  1. The overall attitude of the passengers, mostly Indians, who obviously have a stronger instinct for possession than for survival. But how is this possible? If I can understand the cultural differences that explain such a reaction, the survival instinct should be stronger than anything else. Isn’t that what shows the maturity of a society?
  2. The lack of authority, even the total absence of the cabin crew in this evacuation, and who thus let the passengers disembark by opening the baggage racks, at the risk of being engulfed by the fire.

  We are far, far away from the heroism shown by the crew during the crash of the Air France Paris-Toronto flight in 2004.

• Finally, several videos of the aircraft in the grip of the flames and then towed for destruction, also give few elements, except that the front was more affected than the rear of the aircraft, showing that the fire started under the First class cabin of the Dubai carrier.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3myCLSG3tf0

Let’s hope that the investigation will be completed quickly to understand if the responsibility is human or material.

The first serious accident for a Gulf major

The Gulf majors or ME3 (Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad) have an excellent reputation in terms of aviation safety. These companies have an extremely recent fleet, which requires little maintenance. Beyond that, they also have excellent maintenance teams and very well trained pilots, who generally have experience with European or American majors.

While human error is always possible, technical fault must be considered with the utmost care in this accident, especially since Boeing 777-300 accidents have multiplied in recent years. I am thinking in particular of the two Malaysian Airlines accidents in previous years.

This is the end of the state of grace for these Middle Eastern airlines: beyond service, they must continue to insist on flight safety like the other majors. This should change the communication of these airlines in the coming years.

A communication unfairly influenced by the Gulf authorities

Crisis communication is one of the key elements in the management of an aeronautic accident.
Even if there were no casualties, communication is crucial for the families who are waiting for news of their loved ones.

Emirates’ communication was exemplary in this case. Many press briefings were organized and communication on social networks was reactive and transparent.

But this communication plan was hampered by the reactions of the Dubai authorities: they forbade taking pictures or videos of the aircraft after it was towed to the destruction area. But why such an act? It is better to be completely transparent about the causes of an accident than to hide things from the press. Hiding elements has a destructive effect in terms of communication, much more destructive than seeing an airline react to the crash with dignity.
It’s a shame!

Service, yes, but safety?

In conclusion: the end of the state of grace certainly, even if these airlines are not only great in terms of service: all their corporate divisions are of high quality.
Nevertheless, the question of cabin crew safety training is in question:if luck is not there the next time, and the evacuation is so poorly organized, how many deaths will occur?

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