Flames blamed for UPS crash

THE UPS 747 freighter, which crashed about five miles away from Dubai International Airport in September last year, suffered a fire in the main cargo deck, a revised report has concluded.

Smoke and fumes from the fire entered the flight deck and hindered the two-person crew from managing the aircraft and the emergency, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority air accident preliminary report said.

The ill-fated flight was hit by several other malfunctions, with failures of the aircraft’s air-conditioning, oxygen and flight-control systems, the report found.

The inability to view the flight instruments prevented the crew from operating the aircraft normally for the descent and return to Dubai, and changing from Bahraini to Dubai radio frequencies. The captain experienced problems with the supply to his oxygen mask, which required him to leave his position on the flight deck.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been lithium batteries that spontaneously combusted.

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