Emirates pilots in emergency landing incident resign

Dubai: The pilots who manned the Emirates A340-500 aircraft that made an emergency landing after its tail struck the runway during take-off from Melbourne last month have "submitted their resignations."

An Emirates spokeswoman said the airline cannot provide additional details as the investigation into the incident is continuing.

"Emirates cannot comment on the investigation as it is still under way.

"However we can confirm that the pilots have submitted their resignations," she said. Emirates declined to say whether the two pilots were asked to quit. It also did not disclose their identities.

Emirates had sent a high-level team of officials from its flight safety and operations department to assist in the Australian investigation into the March 20 incident.

The EK407 flight carried 255 passengers.

The plane climbed safely to an intermediate altitude and contacted air traffic control to arrange its return to Melbourne. The landing was completed without incident.

The crew dumped fuel to lighten the plane's load before returning to Melbourne. According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the aircraft's tail scraped the runway and smoke was detected in the cabin. The bureau on its website categorises damage to the aircraft as "substantial."