Aircraft wreckage to be cut up before removal

(HONG KONG, 27 August 1999) The wreckage of the China Airlines MD-11 that crashed at Hong Kong International Airport on Sunday will be cut up and removed in three pieces, the Airport Authority (AA) said today. AA Acting Airport Management Director Mr Howard Eng said that it had been hoped that the fuselage could be recovered in one piece. However, the extent of the internal damage to the aircraft had prevented this. Late last night, the fuselage was lifted by three cranes from the crash site and recovery trailers were put in position to remove the wreckage, Mr Eng said. However as the aircraft fuselage was lowered onto the trailers our fears were confirmed, and it became evident that the impact of the crash had caused serious internal structural damage to the aircraft. The fuselage displayed evidence of breaking up, with the prospect of the nose section detaching from the fuselage. In addition, the rear part of the fuselage distorted and threatened to damage the engine of one of the recovery trailers. An assessment was made with the technical experts on site, including the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO), the crane operators and representatives of the aircraft manufacturer. It was agreed that the wreckage, particularly the nose section, was in an unstable condition, and it was possible it would break up if an attempt was made to remove it from the site and transport it three kilometres to HAECO. Mr Eng said this could result in: - A risk of injury to those personnel responsible for moving the trailers; - Possible further damage to the cockpit area, which contains technical evidence important to the accident investigation; - The risk of blocking vital aircraft movement areas or taxiways, further disrupting the operation of the airport; and - The possibility of damage to valuable recovery equipment At a meeting at 03.20hrs today, it was agreed by the AA and technical experts from HAECO, the crane company and two representatives of the aircraft manufacturer that the wreckage should be lifted from the trailers and returned to its original crash site where it would be cut into three pieces. Weather permitting, this work will commence later today, Mr Eng said. The first part to be removed will be the nose section but it is difficult to give an estimate as how long this part of the work will take. Cranes have had to be repositioned and the hull structure examined in detail before the best place to make the cut can be determined. An added complication is that it will be necessary to cut through the fuselage adjacent to holds containing the now rotting cargo, which includes vegetables, fruit, frogs and snails. This will be an unpleasant and difficult task for those involved, who may require special protective clothing for the task. Mr Eng said that repairs to the runway surface, which was damaged by burning fuel, were completed by 09.00 hrs today. In addition the 43 damaged runway lights have now been replaced. He reiterated that it was still too early to say when the South Runway would return to operations. However, the airport was operating normally with the use of the North Runway. Ref. PR-450