AVIATION/ INFLIGHT FIRE ON LUFTHANSA FL8460 DENIED

Despite multiple eyewitness and other reports, officials investigating the crash of LUFTHANSA CARGO Flight 8460 on Tuesday, say that there was no inflight fire. On July 27, 2010, Lufthansa Cargo Flight 8460 was on International MD11 Service from Frankfurt, Germany, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 2 crew members onboard. The aircraft crash landed at Riyadh, broke in 2 pieces, and burst into flames. Both crew members survived with only minor injuries by exiting the burning airliner via the slides. The MD11 was destroyed. At the time of the crash, multiple ground witnesses reported that the aircraft was trailing smoke as it came in for a landing. On July 29, officials at the Riyadh Airport said that the crew declared an emergency while on approach, reporting a cargo hold fire. Emergency Services were deployed and they reportedly observed the airliner arrive in a cloud of thick black smoke before touching down. On July 30, Lufthansa Cargo said that there was no indication of an inflight fire. Yesterday, an official from the Saudi Arabia Civil Aviation Authority, the agency investigating the crash, said that the preliminary investigation suggests that there was no inflight fire prior to touchdown. The agency said that the aircraft experienced a hard landing, which severely damaged the undercarriage and caused the MD11 to veer off the runway. The impact reportedly caused the post crash fire. The US NTSB, which is assisting in the investigation, would only say that the aircraft "reportedly caught fire after suffering a hard landing". Officials did not comment on whether the crew had actually declared an emergency reporting a cargo hold fire alert while on approach or whether the aircraft simply suffered a hard landing. The investigation continues.