A Lufthansa Cargo MD-11 freighter had an accident this morning at 11.38 a.m. (local time) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The freighter, Flight LH 8460, was on a flight from Frankfurt to Hong Kong with stopovers in Riyadh and Sharjah.

The plane was piloted by a two-man crew who were able to leave the aircraft down the emergency slide. Both pilots have already been contacted on the phone, they are currently being treated in hospital.

The MD-11 freighter, coded D-ALCQ, was severely damaged but a fire on board has been extinguished. On board the freighter were 80 tonnes of freight.

The aircraft was delivered in 1993 and taken over by Lufthansa Cargo in 2004. Up to the accident in Riyadh, it had logged 10,073 take-offs and around 73,200 flying hours. The freighter completed its last comprehensive maintenance check (C-Check) on 22 June 2009, an A-Check was carried out immediately prior to the flight to Riyadh. The experienced cockpit crew consisted of a 39 year-old captain and a 29 year-old first officer.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation. A team of experts from Lufthansa Cargo is on its way to Riyadh. Lufthansa Cargo is cooperating closely with the authorities in Riyadh and will do its utmost to help clarify the reasons for the accident. At the moment, we have no further details.  


Lufthansa Cargo AG

Lufthansa Cargo ranks among the world’s leading cargo carriers. In the 2009 financial year, the airline transported around 1.5 million tonnes of freight and mail and clocked up 7.4 billion revenue tonne-kilometres. The Company currently employs about 4,500 people, worldwide. Lufthansa Cargo focuses on the airport-to-airport business. The cargo carrier serves some 330 destinations in over 100 countries with its own fleet of freighters, the belly capacities of Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines passenger aircraft and an extensive road feeder service network. The bulk of the cargo business is routed through Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly owned Lufthansa subsidiary. In the 2009 financial year, it posted revenues totalling 1.9 billion euros.

27 July, 2010