A plane belonging to Ethiopian Airlines caught fire at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, in China. The cargo aircraft, a Boeing 777F, had just landed from Brussels and was being loaded for its next destination when the incident happened.The Ethopian Airlines has been able to keep its businesses afloat in the lockdown period due to its cargo operations. It has converted its 25 Boeing 737 passenger aircrafts into cargo planes.
Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777F had just arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in China before the incident – The five-years-old aircraft was being loaded with cargo bound for Santiago via Addis Abab – The fire burnt through the fuselage before it was contained moments later by firefighters.
n a statement, the airline said the cause of the fire that razed down section of the fuselage, was still under investigation.
“The plane caught fire while loading cargo at Pudong International Airport. It was on a regular scheduled cargo service from Shanghai to Sao Paulo, Santiago via Addis Ababa,” the airline said adding that no crew was hurt during the incident.
In videos captured during the Wednesday, July 22, incident, a dark cloud of smoke could be seen billowing from the aircraft’s fuselage accompanied by fire.
Over the past four months, Ethiopian cargo has been flying to 70 destinations across the world including Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
to Anadolu Agency, Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said the cargo and maintenance services have helped his company to stay afloat after losing $55 billion due to travel restrictions enforced due to COVID-19 pandemic.
In videos captured during the Wednesday, July 22, incident, a dark cloud of smoke could be seen billowing from the aircraft’s fuselage accompanied by fire.
Fire
engines were also captured racing to the scene to contain the blaze. The five-year-old plane has been categorised as “damaged on the ground” by Aviation Safety Network despite the fire being extinguished moments later.
China’s Civil Aviation Administration and the Ethiopian airline company have begun probing the incident. The statement also said all crew members had exited from the plane safely, while the cause of the fire was still unknown.
As the firefighters were busy dousing flames, authorities had briefly halted flight operation at the airport.
The International Air Transport Association has predicted that cargo operations will contribute 26% of airline industry revenue in 2020, up from 12% in 2019.
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