Luxembourg, 16 January 2019 – Cargolux confirms that its flight CV7303 (LX-VCJ) en-route from Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Malaysia, to Zhengzhou (CGO), China, returned to KUL shortly following take-off. The aircraft, a Boeing 747-8R7F, departed Kuala Lumpur at 11:54 UTC. Eleven minutes later the flight stopped the climb at 16250 feet. An emergency was declared and the flight turned back after the crew reported the presence of fire and smoke in the cockpit.
The operating crew took the decision of returning to Kuala Lumpur International Airport where the aircraft was safely landed. The aircraft landed on runway 32R at 12:27 UTC, vacated the runway via taxiway A4 and stopped on taxiway A.
The rescue services were alerted and the runway was temporarily closed before reopening once the aircraft was returned back to the ramp. The crew were able to leave the aircraft unharmed.
The authorities have been informed and Cargolux is fully cooperating in the investigation to determine the root cause of this incident.
Cargolux confirms that its flight CV7303 en-route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Zhengzhou, China, returned to KUL shortly following take-off. An emergency was declared after the crew reported the presence of fire and smoke in the cockpit.#CV7303
— Cargolux Airlines (@Cargolux_Intl) January 16, 2019
Dear passengers, we regret to share that a cargo aircraft, Cargolux flight CV7303 experienced fire in the cockpit and proceeded for an emergency landing at our Runway 1 (32R) of KL International Airport.
— Malaysia Airports (@MY_Airports) January 16, 2019
Cargolux, legally Cargolux Airlines International S.A., is a Luxembourgish cargo airline with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. With a global network, it is one of the largest scheduled all-cargo airlines in Europe. Charter flights and third party maintenance are also operated.
Europe’s leading all-cargo airline with a modern and efficient fleet composed of 14 Boeing 747-8 freighters and 16 Boeing 747-400 freighters. The Cargolux worldwide network covers over 75 destinations on scheduled all-cargo flights. The company has more than 85 offices in over 50 countries, and operates an extensive global trucking network to more than 250 destinations as well as full and part-charter services. Cargolux also offers third- party maintenance at its modern two-bay maintenance hangar in Luxembourg. The company is specialized in B747 line and hangar maintenance up to and including C-Checks. It offers a range of specialized maintenance services and holds line maintenance approval for 777 aircraft. The Cargolux Group employs close to 2,000 staff worldwide.
Source : Cargolux / Aviation Safety Network
