Incident Overview

Date: Friday 9 November 2018
Aircraft Type: Boeing 757-23N
Owner/operator: Fly Jamaica Airways
Registration Number: N524AT
Location: Georgetown-Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) – ÿ Guyana
Phase of Flight: Landing
Status: Substantial, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 128
Component Affected: The hydraulic system, specifically the left and right-hand main landing gear. This includes the pressure switch, which controls the hydraulic pressure, and the braking system, which is reliant on this hydraulic pressure to function.The hydraulic system, specifically the left and right-hand main landing gear. This includes the pressure switch, which controls the hydraulic pressure, and the braking system, which is reliant on this hydraulic pressure to function.
Investigating Agency: GAAIUGAAIU
Category: Accident
A Boeing 757-200 aircraft suffered a runway excursion following landing at Georgetown-Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Guyana, resulting in significant damage and a loss of life. The flight experienced a hydraulic system failure, leading to a prolonged landing roll and an overrun onto the airport perimeter fence. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, including broken right-hand main landing gear and a pivoted forward engine. Six individuals were injured, with one fatality ? a passenger who died of her injuries due to the resulting injuries. The incident was triggered by a combination of factors, including a loss of braking control, inadequate maintenance, and poor management practices within the FJA.A Boeing 757-200 aircraft suffered a runway excursion following landing at Georgetown-Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Guyana, resulting in significant damage and a loss of life. The flight experienced a hydraulic system failure, leading to a prolonged landing roll and an overrun onto the airport perimeter fence. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, including broken right-hand main landing gear and a pivoted forward engine. Six individuals were injured, with one fatality ? a passenger who died of her injuries due to the resulting injuries. The incident was triggered by a combination of factors, including a loss of braking control, inadequate maintenance, and poor management practices within the FJA.

Description

Fly Jamaica flight 256 suffered a runway excursion after returning to land at Georgetown-Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Guyana. The aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, departed Georgetown Airport at 02:09 hours local time. After departure the flight reported an issue with the hydraulic system. The climb was stopped before reaching FL200 and the aircraft turned back to Georgetown Airport. The aircraft touched down on runway 06 at 02:53 hours. It went off the runway and came to rest across the airport perimeter fence. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The right-hand main landing gear had broken off, and the no.2 (right-hand) engine pivoted forward and upwards. Six persons were injured, according to local media. An eighty-six-year-old passenger died of her injuries on November 16. MAJOR CAUSE Loss of hydraulic fluid, failure of the pressure switch and subsequent total failure of the hydraulic system (firstly the left and subsequently the right) which affected the deployment of some spoilers, thrust reversers and efficacy of the main brakes caused the aircraft to continue the landing roll at a high-speed resulting in an overrun and excursion and severe damage to the aircraft. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS a) Flight Crew lost main brakes after ‘pumping the brakes’ several times which bled off main brake pressure, and their failure to use accumulator brake that was available at the time to stop the aircraft after losing the main brakes. b) Setting the flaps to 20ø instead of landing flap configuration. This resulted in a higher landing speed and roll and with the combination of loss of main brake pressure due to “pumping” the brakes rather than applying and holding the brakes made it difficult to stop the aircraft on the runway. c) Maintenance deficiencies and inadequate maintenance actions regarding the hydraulic system. Leaking hydraulic system. FDR readings indicated a trend of hydraulic system difficulties, more so, during the previous 6 flights before the accident. These maintenance lapses may have led to further deterioration and loss of the hydraulic systems. d) Poor FJA maintenance quality assurance and quality control may have led to the maintenance deficiencies which may have contributed to the ineffective resolution of the hydraulic system leakages and other hydraulic system maintenance issues indicated by the FDR. e) FJA management’s lackadaisical attitude and bypassing recommendations from the Director of Maintenance and Quality Assurance Manager may have led to bad culture, unsafe practices and may have furthered improper maintenance. (e) Management’s interference may have had an adverse effect on maintenance and safety practices generally. f) The soft mud and loose sand in the overrun area contributed to damage to the aircraft during the excursion.

Source of Information

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n524at#1e7f260d, https://newsroom.gy/2018/11/09/fly-jamaica-plane-crashes-on-emergency-landing-at-cjia/, https://demerarawaves.com/2018/11/09/fly-jamaica-plane-crash-lands-at-cheddi-jagan-airport-six-injured/, https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/guyana/11/17/senior-injured-in-fly-jamaica-crash-landing-succumbs/https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n524at#1e7f260d, https://newsroom.gy/2018/11/09/fly-jamaica-plane-crashes-on-emergency-landing-at-cjia/, https://demerarawaves.com/2018/11/09/fly-jamaica-plane-crash-lands-at-cheddi-jagan-airport-six-injured/, https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/guyana/11/17/senior-injured-in-fly-jamaica-crash-landing-succumbs/

Primary Cause

Loss of hydraulic fluid, failure of the pressure switch and subsequent total failure of the hydraulic system, primarily due to the left and right-hand main landing gear issues. This resulted in a prolonged landing roll and an overrun onto the airport perimeter fence.Loss of hydraulic fluid, failure of the pressure switch and subsequent total failure of the hydraulic system, primarily due to the left and right-hand main landing gear issues. This resulted in a prolonged landing roll and an overrun onto the airport perimeter fence.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *