Accident in Riyadh

A Lufthansa Cargo MD-11 freighter had an accident on 27 July while landing in Riyadh. The aircraft with 80 tonnes of cargo loaded came from Frankfurt. It was the first accident of this severity in the history of Lufthansa Cargo.

An investigation began immediately after the accident. On the very same day, a team of experts from the Lufthansa Group left for Riyadh to support the authorities there in the enquiry into the cause of the accident. After the incident, the two pilots were treated in a nearby hospital and both are in a stable condition, so that the decision to return back to Germany was taken. Lufthansa Cargo Flight Operations management has also sent representatives to the Saudi Arabian capital to take care of the fellow colleagues.

The freighter, a total write-off in the accident, will presumably not be recovered for several days yet. Despite the mishap to the plane, customers of Lufthansa Cargo will not be affected by disrupted flight schedules. Selective use will also be made of extra capacity so as to avert any flight cancellations.