Incident Overview

Description
Air Algrie flight 2652 took off from Oran Airport, Algeria en route to Seville Airport, Spain. The weather in Seville at the time of arrival was forecast to be stormy with variable rain and winds. The visibility, reduced by the heavy rain, was in excess of 2,000 m (RVR) at the runway 27 threshold. The runway in use at Seville was runway 27, which had CAT I visual and precision radio navigation landing aids. While in autopilot, the aircraft captured the ILS localizer as it neared Seville, at a distance of 11 NM from the runway 27 threshold. Flight 2652 was cleared to land on runway 27 some nine minutes prior to its arrival time and before descending below the transition level, which was at 7,500 ft above sea level. The control tower reported the wind about three minutes prior to landing, which at that time was from 240ø at 15 kt. The runway was wet and it was raining heavily. The crew was told to proceed on course to Seville at their discretion and in accordance with their procedures. With the tower’s clearance, they captured the glideslope early, far above the 2,000 ft specified in the published AIP procedure and descended along the ILS glideslope without significant deviations from the localize and glidepath until they were below 1,000 ft AGL and with the runway in sight. Established on the glideslope with the gear down and flaps 30ø, they disengaged the autopilot at about 700 ft and shortly thereafter they started to climb above the glideslope. The aircraft then descended to the runway at very high descent rates. The EGPWS SINK RATE and PULL-UP warnings sounded shortly before touchdown. The airplane landed in the middle of an intense rain storm. Personnel in the control tower saw a flame or glow on the right side of the aircraft. During the hard impact with the runway at the aiming point, some 300 m beyond the threshold, the right main gear leg collapsed, pivoting backwards and partially detaching. The crew was able to maintain steering control of the aircraft, which came to a stop after a 900-m landing run. Full reverse thrusters were used to decelerate the airplane. The entire landing roll took place on the paved runway surface. Only at the end of the run did part of the airplane, the right wingtip, touch the ground in an area beyond the paved asphalt. After coming to a stop, and lacking the support from the right leg, the aircraft was being held up by its left leg and right engine, which is forward of the airplane’s center of gravity, as a result of which the aircraft tilted backwards until the tail touched the ground during the final seconds of braking. There was no fuel leak and no fire. The captain gave the evacuation order, which was carried out using the four doors on both sides of the airplane. Due to the final nose-up pitch of the aircraft, the front doors were at a significant height above the ground. As a result, the emergency evacuation ramps were inclined at an excessive angle that hindered the exit of the airplane’s occupants. Causes: “The accident was caused by a very hard landing of the aircraft, during which the right main landing gear was broken, as a consequence of a non stabilized approach. The aircraft became unstabilized during the approach, which was conducted under stormy weather conditions with heavy rains and lightning, and the crew did not adhere to the applicable standard procedures.”
Primary Cause
A non-stabilized approach during severe weather conditions led to a loss of aircraft control, culminating in a hard landing. The aircraft’s instability during the approach, exacerbated by heavy rain and lightning, contributed to the accident.A non-stabilized approach during severe weather conditions led to a loss of aircraft control, culminating in a hard landing. The aircraft’s instability during the approach, exacerbated by heavy rain and lightning, contributed to the accident.Share on: