HONG KONG: The Hong Kong airport runway involved in a deadly plane crash has restarted operations, authorities said Tuesday, just over a week after two men were killed in the city’s deadliest air incident since 1998.
On October 20 a Boeing cargo plane veered off the airport’s northernmost runway during landing, then hit a security patrol car and skidded into the sea.
The salvage operation was completed on Monday night and the involved runway has reopened, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Tuesday, adding that the airport was running as usual.
More than 20 flights have used the runway since 7:00 a.m. Tuesday (2300 GMT Monday), according to data from tracking website Flightradar24.
Two airport security staff were killed in last week’s incident, with authorities saying they had been in a safe position “outside the runway area.”
The city’s air accident investigation authority is now conducting an investigation covering crew qualifications, flight operations, and maintenance records, Lee said.
The black box flight recorders were retrieved on Friday night, and a preliminary investigation report is expected to be released within a month.
Lee said that the plane’s crew, from Istanbul-headquartered ACT Airlines, has remained in Hong Kong since the crash.
Officials said earlier that both the American and Turkish civil aviation accident investigative agencies, as well as experts from Boeing, are participating in the probe.
The crash happened at the airport’s newest runway, part of a HK$142 billion ($18 billion) expansion project that was completed last year.
Hong Kong runway resumes operations after fatal plane crash
https://arab.news/ydjqs
Hong Kong runway resumes operations after fatal plane crash
- On October 20 a Boeing cargo plane veered off the airport’s northernmost runway during landing
- The aircraft hit a security patrol car and skidded into the sea
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
