History of the Flight
On 29 September 2019 at 1223 hrs, Hong Kong Airlines Limited flight HX707, an Airbus A330-243 aircraft registered B-LHA, departed from Runway 25L at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) en route to Denpasar, Indonesia. At 1226 hrs, while climbing through 3,460 ft, the Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitoring (ECAM) system generated warnings indicating low pressure in the Green and Blue hydraulic systems.
Emergency Response
The flight crew executed the applicable emergency procedures, declared an emergency, and decided to return to HKIA for a full emergency landing. The aircraft landed safely on Runway 25L at 1257 hrs and came to a stop abeam taxiway J3. During the landing, the No. 5 tyre burst. The runway was subsequently closed.
Post-Landing Actions
All passengers were disembarked at the scene. There were no injuries. After the No. 5 tyre was replaced, the aircraft was towed to parking bay D313. The runway was reopened at 1440 hrs.
Inspection Findings
Inspection of the left landing gear wheel well revealed that a manual valve had detached from the Green hydraulic system Ground Service Manifold and a Blue hydraulic system return pipe had been punctured.
Causes and Contributing Factors
The investigation identified causes and a contributing factor for the serious incident, as detailed in the official report. No further details on the stated causes are provided in this summary.