Jasim Issa Mohammad Hassan, age 27
Aircraft Rescue Firefighter II / Emergency Medical Technician
Dubai Airports Authority Fire and Rescue Services, Dubai UAE
Assignment: ARFF Firefighter, Crash-Fire-Rescue Unit 10
End of Watch / Line of Duty Death: 3 August 2016
5 years ago this month, Emirates Airlines flight 521, a Boeing 777-300, crashed at the Dubai International airport following a botched low altitude go-around from a landing attempt on Runway 12L. Flight 521 with 282 passengers and 18 flight crew aboard had floated past the touchdown zone while landing with a tailwind. The Captain decided to initiate a go-around, under the assumption that the aircraft would float too far down the runway. Upon initiating TOGA, neither pilot crosschecked the FMA annunciation to see if the items they selected, actually took hold. Unknown to the crew, one of the 777s main landing gears had touched down, inhibiting the TOGA and auto throttle, and thus the engines were still at idle when the crew rotated the aircraft, got airborne, raised the landing gear and climbed to 100 AGL. At this time, it was noticed that speed was rapidly bleeding off, and that the engines were still at idle. Pushing the throttles forward manually, the engines did not have the time to spool up before the 777 settled back down to the runway, skidding to a stop on its belly and catching fire on its right engine and right underwing area. During the evacuation, of the 10 exits with evacuation slides, only 3 were usable due to one having lost its slide and others with slides that flipped up against the fuselage due to the prevailing wind.
It took a little over 2 minutes from the first notification of the crash from the tower, before the first fire chief commander’s vehicle and the first two large ARFF trucks arrived, with the balance of the large crash trucks arriving in 1 minute intervals. As Crash Fire Rescue units 6 and 10 arrived, they both positioned themselves near the now-open R4 door in order for Fire 6 to be able to protect the R5 door area for escaping passengers. Fire 10, with 4 firefighters aboard, deployed two foam/water hose hand lines in order to try and cool fire that was seen near the right wing root as it burned up. Additional fire was in the hydraulic lines areas of the right main landing gear well, but no one could physically see the seat of this fire due to the aircraft resting on its wings and fuselage. The presence of something underneath the wing burning, was seen from smoke getting consistently darker until finally black. Fire 10’s firefighters on the hand line were searching for the seat of this fire, not realizing that the fire had spread to the wing root of the jet and was heating up the remaining fuel and vapors in the center fuel tank of the 777. The firefighters had to control this fire as best as they could, as passengers were evacuating through the remaining evac slides at the various doors. Just prior to the 10 minute elapsed mark from station response time, both Fire 6 and Fire 10 ran out of foam/water. Firefighter Hassan was right next to the wing root area, applying the last of the water/foam from Fire 10 as deep seated as he could, while attempting to protect passengers who were exiting from behind the wing and also shout commands and directions to them for their safety. Less than 20 seconds following the water and foam running out, the fire increasing from the right main landing gear well had spread from there to the center fuel tank and impinged it, causing a detonation and major explosion of the remaining fuel and fuel vapors in the center tank. During the explosion, a large diameter section of the upper wing was thrown upward. That section landed right where Firefighter Hassan was working with his team, while the exploding fuel engulfed the firefighters.
Firefighter Hassan was injured from the falling metal section of the wing as well as severely burned from the Class B fuel fire explosion. His fire gear was engulfed by burning fuel as his body was sprayed by other firefighters with foam. Hassan was then recovered, treated and evacuated by ambulance to the nearest trauma hospital, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries. Firefighter Hassan is one of the very few airport firefighters that have perished to any injuries on an actual fire suppression or rescue job, unlike structural and wildland firefighters who have much higher rates and instances of injury/death.
Following this explosion of the center wing fuel tank, fire entered the main cabin through the ruptured cabin floor, rapidly spreading the fire beyond what the firefighters could control. However, all 282 passengers and 18 crew had escaped, mostly uninjured, from the fuselage area before this last explosion gutted the aircraft. The fire suppression actions of firefighter Hassan and his fellow firefighters, had direct impact in maximizing the time available for passengers to escape the aircraft through the 4/5 LR exits, resulting in the lack of injuries seen in this accident. Sadly, Firefighter Hassan is the only fatality from this aircraft accident.
Pictured below:
- EK521, seen from the left rear following the explosion of the center wing fuel tank. The unusable L5 escape slide can be seen twisted up against the 777 fuselage due to wind effects, as firefighters use master streams from the ARFF vehicles on the aircraft fuselage and the fire that has burned through it.
- EK521s left side prior to the explosion. The unusable L4 and L5 exits can be seen here with their escape slides twisted against the fuselage.
- The right rear of the fuselage post-explosion, showing the R4 and R5 exists aft of the right wing. Note the very shallow angle of the escape slides due to the 777 sitting on its belly.
- The moment of the explosion of the center wing fuel tank and right wing area. ARFF Firefighters from Crash Fire 6 and 10 can be seen in the picture, with Crash 10 truck in the photo.
- Firefighters from Crash Fire 10, including firefighter Hassan, working foam/water hand lines in an attempt to visually spot the fire that was burning underneath the right wing in the main landing gear well.
Aircraft Rescue Firefighter II / Emergency Medical Technician
Dubai Airports Authority Fire and Rescue Services, Dubai UAE
Assignment: ARFF Firefighter, Crash-Fire-Rescue Unit 10
End of Watch / Line of Duty Death: 3 August 2016
5 years ago this month, Emirates Airlines flight 521, a Boeing 777-300, crashed at the Dubai International airport following a botched low altitude go-around from a landing attempt on Runway 12L. Flight 521 with 282 passengers and 18 flight crew aboard had floated past the touchdown zone while landing with a tailwind. The Captain decided to initiate a go-around, under the assumption that the aircraft would float too far down the runway. Upon initiating TOGA, neither pilot crosschecked the FMA annunciation to see if the items they selected, actually took hold. Unknown to the crew, one of the 777s main landing gears had touched down, inhibiting the TOGA and auto throttle, and thus the engines were still at idle when the crew rotated the aircraft, got airborne, raised the landing gear and climbed to 100 AGL. At this time, it was noticed that speed was rapidly bleeding off, and that the engines were still at idle. Pushing the throttles forward manually, the engines did not have the time to spool up before the 777 settled back down to the runway, skidding to a stop on its belly and catching fire on its right engine and right underwing area. During the evacuation, of the 10 exits with evacuation slides, only 3 were usable due to one having lost its slide and others with slides that flipped up against the fuselage due to the prevailing wind.
It took a little over 2 minutes from the first notification of the crash from the tower, before the first fire chief commander’s vehicle and the first two large ARFF trucks arrived, with the balance of the large crash trucks arriving in 1 minute intervals. As Crash Fire Rescue units 6 and 10 arrived, they both positioned themselves near the now-open R4 door in order for Fire 6 to be able to protect the R5 door area for escaping passengers. Fire 10, with 4 firefighters aboard, deployed two foam/water hose hand lines in order to try and cool fire that was seen near the right wing root as it burned up. Additional fire was in the hydraulic lines areas of the right main landing gear well, but no one could physically see the seat of this fire due to the aircraft resting on its wings and fuselage. The presence of something underneath the wing burning, was seen from smoke getting consistently darker until finally black. Fire 10’s firefighters on the hand line were searching for the seat of this fire, not realizing that the fire had spread to the wing root of the jet and was heating up the remaining fuel and vapors in the center fuel tank of the 777. The firefighters had to control this fire as best as they could, as passengers were evacuating through the remaining evac slides at the various doors. Just prior to the 10 minute elapsed mark from station response time, both Fire 6 and Fire 10 ran out of foam/water. Firefighter Hassan was right next to the wing root area, applying the last of the water/foam from Fire 10 as deep seated as he could, while attempting to protect passengers who were exiting from behind the wing and also shout commands and directions to them for their safety. Less than 20 seconds following the water and foam running out, the fire increasing from the right main landing gear well had spread from there to the center fuel tank and impinged it, causing a detonation and major explosion of the remaining fuel and fuel vapors in the center tank. During the explosion, a large diameter section of the upper wing was thrown upward. That section landed right where Firefighter Hassan was working with his team, while the exploding fuel engulfed the firefighters.
Firefighter Hassan was injured from the falling metal section of the wing as well as severely burned from the Class B fuel fire explosion. His fire gear was engulfed by burning fuel as his body was sprayed by other firefighters with foam. Hassan was then recovered, treated and evacuated by ambulance to the nearest trauma hospital, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries. Firefighter Hassan is one of the very few airport firefighters that have perished to any injuries on an actual fire suppression or rescue job, unlike structural and wildland firefighters who have much higher rates and instances of injury/death.
Following this explosion of the center wing fuel tank, fire entered the main cabin through the ruptured cabin floor, rapidly spreading the fire beyond what the firefighters could control. However, all 282 passengers and 18 crew had escaped, mostly uninjured, from the fuselage area before this last explosion gutted the aircraft. The fire suppression actions of firefighter Hassan and his fellow firefighters, had direct impact in maximizing the time available for passengers to escape the aircraft through the 4/5 LR exits, resulting in the lack of injuries seen in this accident. Sadly, Firefighter Hassan is the only fatality from this aircraft accident.
Pictured below:
- EK521, seen from the left rear following the explosion of the center wing fuel tank. The unusable L5 escape slide can be seen twisted up against the 777 fuselage due to wind effects, as firefighters use master streams from the ARFF vehicles on the aircraft fuselage and the fire that has burned through it.
- EK521s left side prior to the explosion. The unusable L4 and L5 exits can be seen here with their escape slides twisted against the fuselage.
- The right rear of the fuselage post-explosion, showing the R4 and R5 exists aft of the right wing. Note the very shallow angle of the escape slides due to the 777 sitting on its belly.
- The moment of the explosion of the center wing fuel tank and right wing area. ARFF Firefighters from Crash Fire 6 and 10 can be seen in the picture, with Crash 10 truck in the photo.
- Firefighters from Crash Fire 10, including firefighter Hassan, working foam/water hand lines in an attempt to visually spot the fire that was burning underneath the right wing in the main landing gear well.
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