Investigation Summary
Touchdown was completed at about 19:52 UTC on 19 October, 03:52 Hong Kong time on 20 October, and the excursion occurred during the rollout, between 03:52:30 and 03:52:42. According to AAIA preliminary report PLR-2025-04 of 18 November 2025, an AUTOBRAKES EICAS message appeared after touchdown, the autobrake disarmed and the captain took control. The FDR shows the No. 4 engine - dispatched under the minimum equipment list with its thrust reverser inoperative - accelerating to 107% N1 in forward thrust, and its thrust lever was found full forward. Reverse thrust was re-selected on engines 1 to 3 only after the aircraft had departed the runway. Other MEL items included a hydraulic system 1 indication issue that was resolved before departure. The tail section separated during the impact sequence. The FDR, CVR, QAR and engine electronic controls were retrieved. Weather, air traffic control and the runway condition were all normal. The investigating authority is Hong Kong's Air Accident Investigation Authority, with Turkey's TSIC and the U.S. NTSB accredited. The report contains no analysis or findings and the investigation is ongoing.
Final Conclusions
No findings. AAIA preliminary report PLR-2025-04 (18 November 2025) is factual and states no cause; the investigation is ongoing.
Video Analysis
Emirates SkyCargo Flight 9788 Accident Animation — Visual reconstruction and brief of the 2025 runway excursion involving an Air ACT Boeing 747 in Hong Kong.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
BDSF Conversion
The airframe was a Bedek Special Freighter, a passenger-to-freighter conversion carried out under Israel Aerospace Industries' Bedek programme; it was originally built as a passenger 747-400.
Runway 07L
The landing runway at Hong Kong International Airport where the excursion occurred; it was later cleared for service.
Interesting Facts
- 01Two people were killed, both occupants of the airport security vehicle; the official injury table records crew 0, passengers 0, others 2 fatal.
- 02The No. 4 engine was dispatched under the MEL with its thrust reverser inoperative; the FDR shows it accelerating to 107% N1 forward thrust, and its thrust lever was found full forward.
- 03Reverse thrust was re-selected on engines 1 to 3 only after the aircraft had left the runway.
- 04A hydraulic system 1 indication issue was another MEL item, resolved before departure.
- 05The tail section separated during the impact sequence; FDR, CVR, QAR and the engine electronic controls were retrieved.
- 06Weather, ATC and runway condition were all normal.
- 07The investigating authority is Hong Kong's AAIA, with Turkey's TSIC and the U.S. NTSB accredited.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Runway Inspection
Airport Authority Hong Kong conducted a full examination of Runway 07L to ensure no structural damage or debris remained before reopening it to traffic.
Location
APPROXIMATE AREA ONLY · This position predates coordinate provenance tracking. Treat it as an approximate marker for the area, not the accident site. No map is shown, because a marker here would imply a precision the record does not have.
Reported location: Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong