A heavily loaded cargo jumbo bound for the Middle East delayed its departure after other flight crews reported seeing fuel apparently leaking from the aircraft’s wingtip while it was lined up for takeoff.
On March 6th 2026, a Air Atlanta Europe Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration 9H-AKF, operating flight SV-3021 on behalf of Saudia from Hong Kong to Jeddah, was lined up for departure from runway 07R when another aircraft crew alerted air traffic control to a possible issue.
According to radio reports, the crew of another aircraft observed what appeared to be liquid streaming from the left wingtip of the 747. Air traffic control relayed the observation to the freighter’s crew and asked whether they had any indication of a fuel leak.
The 747 crew responded that the aircraft was carrying a large amount of fuel for the long-haul flight but reported no cockpit indications of any leakage. Moments later, another flight crew monitoring the situation also reported seeing fuel apparently leaking from the aircraft’s left wing.
Given the repeated observations, the freighter’s crew elected to vacate the runway rather than continue with the takeoff. The aircraft exited via the first available taxiway and taxied back toward the apron for inspection.
Meanwhile, airport authorities began a runway inspection to check for possible fuel contamination. The runway was temporarily closed for about 10 minutes while the inspection was conducted.
Despite the external reports, the flight crew maintained that there were no indications inside the cockpit suggesting a fuel leak from the aircraft’s systems.
After ground checks and the brief runway inspection were completed, the freighter eventually resumed its departure preparations. The aircraft finally departed approximately three hours and forty-five minutes after the initial interruption.
