Airbus A330 - 223 incident near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, SA, July 23, 2015
On July 23, 2015 at about 12:23 pm local time, a Airbus A330 - 223, registered HL8211, was involved in an incident during initial climb near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (King Khalid International airport). No one was hurt; 198 people were on board or involved.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 23, 2015 · about 12:23 pm local time
- Place
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia · King Khalid International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 198 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Airbus A330 - 223 223 · all A330 - 223s on the register
- Registration
- HL8211 · no longer on the register · serial 1133
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On July 23, 2015, at about 12:23 UTC, a Korean Air Airbus A330-223, registration number HL8211, experienced a No. 1 (left engine) stall after initial takeoff from the King Khalid International Airport (KSA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The flight crew received a subsequent No. 1 engine exhaust gas temperature overlimit and No. 1 engine fail warning in the cockpit, declared an emergency and performed an in-flight shutdown of the engine and a return to KSA for an uneventful single engine landing. The Aviation Investigation Bureau of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is conducting the investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board is serving as their Accredited Representative as the State of Manufacture of the engines. For additional information, contact the Aviation Investigation Bureau of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at: Aviation Safety Department Presidency of Civil Aviation P.O. Box 887 Jeddah 21165, Saudi Arabia Tel.: +966 012 685-6551, Fax: +966 012 685-4250, e-mail: report@aib.gov.sa, website www.aib.gov.sa AFTN: OEJDYAYX, Telex: 601093 CIVAIR SJ, Cable: CIVILAIR JEDDAH
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail during initial climb defining event
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PW4170 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Korean Air
The flight
- Departed from: KSA Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Destination: ICN Incheon S Korea
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 14 | |||
| Passengers | 184 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.