A Emirates Jet Came Inches From Crashing At Melbourne Airport

By Daniel Baxter

April 12, 2009, Melbourne Australia a fully loaded  jet carrying 225 passengers and bound for Dubai last month had to use the entire 11,800 foot long runway 16 but failed to become airborne until the last moment.The pilots managed to pull the nose up sharply but smashed the jet's tail into the ground and also took out airport strobe lights at the end of the runway. The plane then took out navigation antennae before barely clearing the airport's boundary fence. "It was as close as we have ever come to a major aviation catastrophe in Australia,'' an aviation official stated.