Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 4 March 2018
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-322 (SF)
Owner/operator: Serve Air
Registration Number: 9S-ASG
Location: Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM) – ÿ Congo (Democratic Republic)
Phase of Flight: Landing
Status: Substantial, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6
Component Affected: Aircraft ? Specifically, the nose landing gear, the left main landing gear, and the right wing.Aircraft ? Specifically, the nose landing gear, the left main landing gear, and the right wing.
Investigating Agency: BPEABPEA
Category: Accident
A Boeing 737-300 cargo aircraft, operated by Serve Air, experienced a catastrophic landing at Lubumbashi International Airport, D.R. Congo, resulting in significant damage and loss of control. The aircraft was operating a cargo flight to Lubumbashi, and the flight crew consisted of a captain and a trainee captain. Following a briefing, the aircraft was instructed to execute an instrument landing procedure (ILP) on runway 07. During the landing, the aircraft exhibited a deviation from the centreline, leading to a skid and subsequent loss of control. The aircraft’s nose landing gear failed to grip the runway, causing it to break off, resulting in damage to the left main landing gear and the aircraft’s right wing. Contributing factors include a reduction in simulator training hours for a pilot with no ground handling experience, and the observed characteristics of the runway shoulders at Lubumbashi airport, which are less robust than anticipated.A Boeing 737-300 cargo aircraft, operated by Serve Air, experienced a catastrophic landing at Lubumbashi International Airport, D.R. Congo, resulting in significant damage and loss of control. The aircraft was operating a cargo flight to Lubumbashi, and the flight crew consisted of a captain and a trainee captain. Following a briefing, the aircraft was instructed to execute an instrument landing procedure (ILP) on runway 07. During the landing, the aircraft exhibited a deviation from the centreline, leading to a skid and subsequent loss of control. The aircraft’s nose landing gear failed to grip the runway, causing it to break off, resulting in damage to the left main landing gear and the aircraft’s right wing. Contributing factors include a reduction in simulator training hours for a pilot with no ground handling experience, and the observed characteristics of the runway shoulders at Lubumbashi airport, which are less robust than anticipated.

Description

A Boeing 737-300 cargo plane, operated by Serve Air, suffered a runway excursion and nose gear collapse after landing on runway 07 at Lubumbashi International Airport, D.R. Congo. The aircraft departed Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport on a cargo flight to Lubumbashi. A training captain was seated on the right and the trainee captain on the left seat. The third pilot had the role of safety pilot. The trainee captain was on his fifth line training flight. At Lubumbashi, the crew was cleared for an instrument landing procedure for runway 07. In the pre-landing briefing, AUTO BRAKE 2 mode was selected for deceleration of the aircraft. No anomalies or technical malfunctions were reported to ATC. The weather conditions were good with calm winds. On landing, the aircraft landed in the touchdown zone according to the crew, the rollout on the runway appeared normal, and deceleration was progressive. At about 80 knots, the crew noted that the aircraft was diverging to the left of the runway centreline. The crew immediately switched to manual braking, but to no avail, the aircraft continued the skid until it went off the runway and came to a stop, leaving the right main gear on the runway. The nose landing gear, passing over the less compact shoulder, became bogged down and then broke off. The left main landing gear, with the weight of the aircraft, also dug in so that the left engine touched the ground. The aircraft sustained substantial damage in the area of the nose landing gear cage (wheel well). Contributing facts: (a) Reduction of simulator training hours for economic reasons for someone who has never performed the duties of controlling an aircraft on the ground. (b) The runway shoulders at Lubumbashi (Luano) do not have the same characteristics with regard to strength (see Annex 14 and Document 9157 Part 3). In conclusion, the actions taken on the rudder before it became ineffective must have been the cause of the aircraft’s deviation from the runway centreline and the loss of control of the aircraft (LOC-G).

Source of Information

http://times.cd/2018/03/04/un-cargo-de-services-air-fait-une-sortie-de-piste-a-lubumbashi/http://times.cd/2018/03/04/un-cargo-de-services-air-fait-une-sortie-de-piste-a-lubumbashi/

Primary Cause

Reduction in simulator training hours for a pilot with no ground handling experience, coupled with the suboptimal conditions at the runway shoulders of Lubumbashi Airport.Reduction in simulator training hours for a pilot with no ground handling experience, coupled with the suboptimal conditions at the runway shoulders of Lubumbashi Airport.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

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