Flight Crew In Miracle Escape After Cargo Plane Crashes In Saudi Arabia

The flight crew used slides to escape from the aircraft as it was engulfed in flames this morning.

‘Its engines stopped working, then it crashed and split into two halves. ‘Europe’s biggest cargo carrier said it was sending a team of experts to Riyadh to help investigate the cause of the crash.

An unnamed airport official said the plane veered off a runway on landing: ‘It did not stop until the Royal Terminal runway. Soon after smoke started to emerge, followed by a fire. ‘It took civil defence workers about three hours to contain the fire, he added.

Michael Goentgens, a spokesman for Lufthansa’s cargo division in Germany, said the cargo plane had started out in Frankfurt. Mr Goentgens confirmed it had an accident while trying to land at the airport in Riyadh, but he declined to comment on the cause. 

He also confirmed the two pilots aboard Flight 8460, which was carrying about 90 tons of unspecified cargo, were injured.

There is no word as yet on the exact cause of the  crash, but the MD-11 is regarded as having a poor safety record. 

Several MD-11s have crashed since the model was first introduced in 1990, resulting in over 200 fatalities.