300 Escape After Emirates Plane Catches Fire
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Another end to the trading day there. What you're seeing is really sort of lack of momentum of Wall Street despite public economic data and rising oil prices as well. We'll have big earnings due out this hour as well. Our Paul La Monica is standing by at the stock exchange. It is Wednesday, August 3rd. Tonight a firefighter is killed at the world's busiest airport after a jumbo jet crashes upon landing. We'll be live in Dubai for you. Also ahead, top Republican donors are just ditching Donald Trump, they are now in fact supporting Hillary Clinton. And South Africans go to the polls amid calls for economic change. Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. All right, amid the past 24 hours of controversy after controversy, Donald Trump has in fact just started speaking at a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida. Let's listen in.</s>ASHER: All right. Donald Trump speaking there at a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida. Basically, really sort of laying it to Hillary Clinton. Saying that Clinton should get an award for the founder -- as the founder of ISIS. We haven't heard anything yet in terms of the controversy surrounding the Trump campaign, especially when it come to him not supporting Paul Ryan as of yet. We'll keep an eye on this rally for you. In the meantime, some other stories that we were following. It was a deadly accident that could have before far, far worse. One firefighter is dead after a Boeing 777 skidded off the runway and burst into flames at Dubai's International Airport. Look at these pictures, the smoke, billowing flames, you can see it there. All 300 people aboard Emirates Flight 521 made it off alive. Some people calling this a real miracle. We do know 13 people did suffer minor injuries though. Pictures from the scene show the plane lying on its belly, look at this, its belly with the top of the fuselage, if you look closely, pretty much burned off. Isa Soares has more.</s>ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A terrifying moment for passengers flying from South India when their plane, a Boeing 777 300, crashed upon landing at Dubai's International Airport. Dramatic images show the Emirates plane catching fire, an explosion then ensues and thick smoke billows from the aircraft. The plane is then seen crumpled on its belly. On board 282 passengers and 18 crew. Amazingly all are safe and accounted for. The majority of the passengers are from India. Many others also from the U.K. Now the cause of the accident still not known but theories are abound. CNN's aviation expert believes the incident may have happened after landing, or landing gear didn't work. These are all theories that are being investigating by Emirates. Isa Soares, CNN.</s>ASHER: All right. Let's talk more about the accident. CNN's Jon Jensen is at Dubai airport. And he joins us live now. It has been a few hours since this accident. Have we had any more of a clearer picture on what caused this?</s>JON JENSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. At this point we sure don't. There was a press conference earlier tonight where the chairman of Emirates said that they have all of the data that they need. But it just could take some time for the 300 or so survivors of this very dramatic wreck at Dubai International Airport. Moments of real good fortune. But also tonight we learned there was one real moment of tragedy here in the UAE. Officials here confirming that an Emirate firefighter died while fighting the blaze on the runway. He is already being called a martyr, a national hero. And we understand that his funeral could take place as soon as tomorrow. Meanwhile, the airport is back up and running. We were there a couple of hours ago when the first planes started taking off and landing again. But again, Zain, we are still no closer to that answer of why this plane skidded and burst into flames in the first place.</s>ASHER: What has been the reaction therefrom passengers?</s>JENSEN: Well, we have seen some reports of passengers who got off the plane and they were, obviously, very thankful that they made it off safely. A number of passengers came from India. The flight originated in the western part of India for a two or three-hour flight. And of course the reports that we've seen. They were all very thankful. Some called it a miracle. We weren't able to actually speak with any passengers ourselves. We do know that the passengers that did make it off were all safe and accounted for. There were only 13 minor injuries on the plane. Keep in mind this is a fairly common route from Western India to Dubai. There are a number of Indians and South Asians that live in the UAE. That work in the UAE, that go back and forth. The conditions at the airport, Zain, I was there a few hours after the incident. It's just a normal hot day in August. There was a little bit of wind, some sand in the air. But these are conditions that these pilots having done this route so many times are very accustomed to. So many, many more questions right now than answers as to what happened to this plane, Zain.</s>ASHER: All right, Jon Jensen, live for us there. Thank you so much. As Jon was actually just mentioning, flights leaving Dubai International Airport were delayed and incoming flights were diverted. At this hour the airport is operating with only one runway right now. Arriving flights are being given priority over departing flights. The airport is in fact the world's busiest for international travelers. And it's the main hub for Emirates. The airline flies more Boeing 777 than any other airline. The plane is actually considered one of the safest in the world. It has a very, very good safety record. Six Boeing 777 have been written off over 21 years in service. Two of those were MH 370 and MH-17. Boeing says it has a team standing by to assist, to help in the investigation. Joining me now, CNN aviation analyst, Mary Schiavo. She served as the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation. So, Mary, you have investigated many, many aviation disasters, many aviation accidents. Give us a sense of what sort of thing could cause a plane to crash upon landing?</s>MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, we have two pretty good clues already that have come out of the information that's available. One is that supposedly the air traffic control travel did alert the incoming aircraft and they asked them to check that their gear was down. Now, whether they do that all the time is routine. That does not happen in most places. You don't get that warning. But there was some communication about a gear down check. Which could indicate one of two things. They were having a problem with the gear. Now there's lights, there are warnings in the cockpit if the gear does not come down and lock. So they would have known that if they were having a problem unless there was some kind of problem with the warning system to tell them it was not down and locked. And then a weather check tells us we did have a wind shift. Typically, it is called wind shear, but we don't know the magnitude of it yet. But the wind changed just as the plane was coming in literally from an easterly to a westerly direction. There is a lot of debate whether they had a tail when or a sudden change in the wind. And so if they experienced wind shear and were trying to do a go around they would take their gear up. But not until they got a positive rate of climb and full power out of those engines. Because this is a dangerous part of flight. So those are some of the clues that are coming out at this point with the available information.</s>ASHER: And I'm wondering if you can actually just pull up some of the images of the aftermath of this crash. If our producers can just pull up the images. Basically what you see is thick black smoke billowing in the air. You can see this part of the fuselage completely burned off. A frightening situation, Mary, for any passenger. Just explain to us -- when you look at these images, how on earth is it possible that no one, at least none of the passengers, was seriously hurt?</s>SCHIAVO: You know, and this is the second similar situation to this. There was a 777 that crashed in San Francisco about three years ago. Now there were a number of passengers that were seriously hurt and two people were killed. But the same thing, the plane burned in the similar pattern but people were able to get off. And again, these planes have to be and have to pass design proof that people can get off of that plane in 90 seconds or less. It is required. It's required of all aircrafts of major aviation nations and has to be tested. So that's a kudo to it. And here the engine came off. But they're designed to come off in a particular way to do less damage to the aircraft. And here the engine came off and over the wing. And it would do that if it is still producing thrust. Designed not to hurt the plane more than necessary if the wing comes off. So kudos to the aircraft for also helping save lives.</s>ASHER: So, you know, this is obviously, every passenger's absolute worst nightmare, especially for people who fly a lot. When you look at the images, if you're a passenger and you're involved in a situation like this, a nightmare scenario for everybody, what are you supposed to do and what are you not supposed to do?</s>SCHIAVO: You're supposed to get off as fast as possible --</s>ASHER: And not panic as well.</s>SCHIAVO: And not panic. But people stopped to get their luggage. They did it in the Asiana crash in San Francisco. They did it here. While they think it doesn't slow things down, it does. And you know, it's human nature. I don't fault people. They are afraid. They just do what their naturally do. I have to get my things and go. But it's really important to get to the nearest exit as soon as possible. Don't block it. Get off. Help others if you must, but get out. And that's what spells the difference between living and dying, because it's the smoke that kills more people than anything else.</s>ASHER: That's very good advice. Don't stop and think, oh, I've get your laptop, got to get my backpack, et cetera, et cetera. Just get off. Mary Schiavo, live for us there. Thank you so much, appreciate that.</s>SCHIAVO: Thank you.</s>ASHER: The votes have been cast. Now the counting begins. We'll look at the hotly contested elections in South Africa and what it could mean for the country's economy. That's next.