Emirates Crew Member Falls From 777-300ER in Uganda
Update 3/15/18: Several reports confirm that the crew member died after arriving at a nearby hospital on Wednesday night.
Update 3/14/18 1:55pm: Emirates has confirmed the incident. A representative provided the following statement:
We can confirm that a member of our cabin crew unfortunately fell from an open door while preparing the aircraft for boarding on flight EK729 from Entebbe today (14 March 2018). The injured crew member was brought to the nearest hospital. We are providing all possible support and care for the affected crew, and will extend our full co-operation to the authorities in their investigation.
An Emirates crew member fell from a 777-300ER prior to its return from Entebbe, Uganda (EBB) to Dubai (DXB), according to several Ugandan media reports and eyewitness accounts. The female crew member reportedly jumped out of an open door while the plane was on the ground, according to a report in Uganda's Daily Monitor (warning: graphic images).
An airline employee speaking on background confirmed the report, however we're still awaiting a response from Emirates' public relations department, as the airline is reportedly currently working to inform the employee's family. Crew members operating this round-trip spend 24 hours on the ground before returning to Dubai — the victim was reportedly a cabin supervisor working the return flight, Emirates 730, which departed EBB just over an hour behind schedule.
A report from an Entebbe radio station's verified Twitter account states that the employee died upon reaching the hospital, and while the gruesome photos shared by some publications suggest that the unidentified crew member sustained very serious injuries, her condition has not yet been confirmed.
Our thoughts go out to the victim and her family. We'll update this story if we hear back from the airline.
