Incident Overview
Description
TACA Flight 390, an Airbus A320-233, suffered a runway excursion after a long and fast landing at Tegucigalpa-Toncontin Airport (TGU) in poor weather. Three occupants and two persons on the ground were killed. Flight 390 was a regular flight from San Salvador (SAL), El Salvador to Miami (MIA), USA with an intermediate stop at Tegucigalpa (TGU), Honduras. The A320 took off from San Salvador around 09:05. Prior to landing, the wind information given by the ATC at Tegucigalpa was 190ø/10 kt and ATC also confirmed that the runway was wet. Landing configuration was established with slats/flaps fully extended, gear down, ground spoilers armed, autobrake selected to MED. The aircraft landing weight was 63.5t (max landing weight 64.5t) and a Vapp of 137 kt.The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 02 and landed with Autopilot and Flight Directors OFF, and autothrust engaged in managed speed mode. At time of touch down, IAS was 139 kt and Ground Speed (GS) was 159 kt (estimated tailwind was 12 kt from DFDR data analysis). The A320 and landed at Tegucigalpa’s runway 02 around 09:40. Runway 02 is 3297 feet high and has a displaced threshold of 213 m). The Landing Distance Available (LDA) for runway 02 is 1649 m. The touch down occurred at approximately 400 m from the runway 02 displaced threshold. Immediately after touch down, the crew selected MAX REV, and both engine reversers and the ground spoilers deployed normally. The nosewheel touch down occurred 7s after the main landing gear. The crew applied manual braking 4s after main landing gear touch down and commanded maximum pedal braking 10 seconds later. At 70 kt IAS, upon call-out of the copilot, the captain selected IDLE REV. The remaining distance to the runway end was approximately 190 m. The aircraft overran the runway at 54 kt and dropped down the 20 m embankment and onto a street, sustaining severe damage on impact with the ground. Runway 02/20 is a 6112 x 148 feet (1863 x 45 meters) asphalt runway. The current NOTAM advised a.o. that the runway could be wet: “RWY 02/20 OPR BUT CTN ADVISED DUE TO WET SURFACE ON RAINY SEASON. 06 MAY 16:00 2008 UNTIL PERM. ” At the morning of the accident, tropical storm Alma buffeted Nicaragua’s Pacific coast but was losing force as it headed inland over southern Honduras. Probable Cause The Investigation determined that the probable cause of this accident was the decision to land on a runway without a proper assessment of the operational conditions, weather, aircraft’s landing weight and runway conditions and disregarding the operator procedure, while missing essential information on the runway conditions. Contributory Causes 1) The landing was long, probably due to the tailwind and high energy of the aircraft with a ground speed around 160 kts. 2) The operating crew did not recalculate the maximum landing weight permissible and the actual landing distance prior to commencing the approach. 3) The non-precision approach with a subsequent circle to a visual landing was conducted in poor weather conditions, which resulted in high cockpit workloads. 4) The manufacturer provided procedure does not provide guidance on applicable actions for a touchdown beyond the recommended touch zone. 5) Contributing to the severity of the accident was the lack of stop way and a cliff at the end of runway 02. 6) Contributing to reduced braking efficiency was the lack of pavement grooving, which resulted in inadequate runway drainage.
Primary Cause
Failure to adequately assess operational conditions, weather, aircraft’s landing weight and runway conditions, and the operator procedure, leading to a potentially catastrophic touchdown.Failure to adequately assess operational conditions, weather, aircraft’s landing weight and runway conditions, and the operator procedure, leading to a potentially catastrophic touchdown.Share on:
