Passengers aboard  Emirates flight EK730 which had just landed at Uganda’s Entebbe airport on Wednesday are alleging a female cabin crew member jumped out of an Emergency Exit holding a glass under her chin.

She died after plunging three storeys to the apron.  The woman was reported dead on arrival at a local hospital.  But what happened just before she either jumped or fell is causing intense speculation. Emirates has issued a terse statement saying that a cabin crew member :

“appeared to have opened the emergency door and unfortunately fell off an Emirates aircraft that had safely landed and parked …”

The badly injured flight attendant was photographed lying crumpled on the tarmac before she was taken to hospital where she was declared DOA.

Capital FM in Uganda reported that “…an Emirates Air hostess commits suicide at Entebbe International Airport…” and was rushed to Kisubi Hospital.  All social media reports from passengers on board are very clear, however, what set off this incident.

The attendant had apparently had been involved in a loud verbal altercation with other crew members and they say she then deliberately opened the door with a glass held under her throat and jumped.

Emirates prides itself on its diverse cabin and flight crew drawn from all over the world.  However, having flowing this airline a few times, I’ve often noted tension between crew members, particularly between males and females from different nationalities. There are totally different people and despite the airlines’ attempt at using its own corporate culture as the basis of operations, these kinds of tensions are inevitable.

On one flight to the U.S. in 2016 one of the cabin crew was quite rude when they ran out of custom forms (I like sitting at the back). When I complained she just walked away. Another crew member from New Zealand overheard and went to locate a form.  The initial crew member was from Malaysia and didn’t seem to understand how to think laterally. She also seemed to think she was doing me a favour instead of doing her job, while the New Zealander was just trying to make things work.

In a terse statement the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority said an investigation is under way into the cause of the crew members death and repeated the Emirates quote:

 

“A female member of the crew appeared to have opened the emergency door and unfortunately fell off an Emirates aircraft that had safely landed and parked.”

Russian Gold Falls From the Sky 

In other aviation news today which is somewhat bizarre,  3.4 tonnes of gold fell onto the runway at Yakutsk during the aircraft’s takeoff.  The AN-12 was carrying the 20kg gold bars which shifted on take-off and smashed through the fuselage leaving a gaping hole.

The aircraft made an emergency landing 12 kilometres away at the Magan airfield and the remaining gold, reportedly 8.7 tonnes of the yellow stuff, was safe. The aircraft was also carrying platinum and diamonds and had made a refuelling stop in Yakutsk. All 172 gold bars that fell out were recovered.

No-one was prepared to say exactly where the gold and treasure emanated.

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