Miami Air International Flight 293

Last updated

Miami Air International Flight 293
Miami Air Flight 293 crash scene (40807602883).jpg
The aircraft resting in the St. Johns River
Accident
DateMay 3, 2019
Summary Runway excursion
Site St. Johns River, Jacksonville, Florida
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 737-81Q
Operator Miami Air International
IATA flight No.LL293
ICAO flight No.BSK293
Call signBISCAYNE 293
Registration N732MA
Flight origin Leeward Point Field, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Destination Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Occupants143
Passengers136
Crew7
Fatalities0
Injuries21
Survivors143

Miami Air International Flight 293 was a military charter from Guantanamo Bay to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, operated by Miami Air International. On May 3, 2019, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft operating the flight overran the runway on landing. Twenty-one people were injured. The aircraft was written off, making it the 17th loss of a Boeing 737-800. [1] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the accident to hydroplaning caused by heavy rainfall on the ungrooved runway; although the pilots were found to have made a series of errors during final approach and landing, the NTSB concluded that these errors had little effect on the final outcome, as the aircraft would have been unable to stop even if the landing had been executed properly. [2]

Contents

Accident

Miami Air International Flight 293 was a supplemental non-scheduled passenger flight from Leeward Point Field, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. It served to transport military personnel and related civilians. [3] The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, skidded off the runway at Jacksonville into the St. Johns River while attempting to land in a thunderstorm. Emergency services, including more than 50 firefighters, rescued all 136 passengers and seven crew. [4]

The plane was never submerged; however, many passengers in the front and mid section of the plane were soaked when brackish water entered through breaches in the fuselage. There was also several inches of water in the rows in the back of the plane. [5] Twenty-one people were injured and transported to the hospital, but there were no critical injuries. [5] [6] At least three pets transported in the hold of the aircraft are presumed to have died. [7] Authorities were concerned about fuel spreading in the river and worked to contain it. [5] [8]

Aircraft and crew

N732MA, the aircraft involved, photographed in 2013 N732MA Miami Air International 2001 Boeing 737-81Q C-N 30618 "Maria R" (9908495406).jpg
N732MA, the aircraft involved, photographed in 2013

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-81Q, registered as N732MA, MSN 30618, Line Number 830. The aircraft first flew on April 12, 2001 and was delivered to Miami Air on April 26. [1] The aircraft was equipped with two CFM International CFM56-7B26 engines. At the time of the accident, it had flown for 38,928 hours 57 minutes in 15,610 flights. [9] [10] [1]

In command was 55-year-old Captain Gabriel Cosentino, who had been with Miami Air since 2008 and had 7,500 flight hours, including 1,000 hours on the Boeing 737. Cosentino was also a check airman at the airline and held several instructor positions. The first officer was 47-year-old Claudio Marcelo Jose La Franca, who had only been with the airline for five months. He had the same amount of flight hours as captain Cosentino (7,500), but only 18 of them were on the Boeing 737. [9] [11]

Investigation

Aerial view (facing west) of N732MA in the St. Johns River following the runway excursion from NAS Jacksonville Runway 28/10 Miami Air Flight 293 crash site (46857358255).jpg
Aerial view (facing west) of N732MA in the St. Johns River following the runway excursion from NAS Jacksonville Runway 28/10

The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Boeing, and the United States Navy. [5] [12] [13] Initial causes of the investigation focused on a possible failure of the thrust reverser and the pilot's request to change runways. [14]

The right hand thrust reverser was inoperative at the time of takeoff, as allowed per the master minimum equipment list, which made the thrust reversers unavailable after the aircraft landed. [1]

During the landing approach, the pilot checked in with the Jacksonville tower at 9:22:19 PM; the approach controller advised the pilot to land on Runway 28. [15] The recorded weather conditions at 9:22 PM included heavy rain and thunderstorms with wind from 350° at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph). Thunderstorms had begun at 9:04 PM. [15] Although the aircraft was advised to land on Runway 28 (east to west), which is 9,000 ft (2,700 m) long, the pilot requested if the opposite direction (west to east, designated Runway 10) was available at 9:23:25 PM; the tower advised the pilot that rain was building approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the approach to Runway 10. [15] In addition, using Runway 10 would reduce the available landing distance to 7,800 ft (2,400 m) due to the displaced threshold resulting from the presence of arresting gear at the west end of the runway. [1]

At 9:24:55 PM, the pilot radioed the tower again to get advice on whether to use Runway 28 or 10; the tower controller said both were "pretty rough" and "pretty socked in", but the winds continued to favor the use of 28. The tower directed the pilot to turn right to a heading of 010° and descend and maintain an altitude of 3,000 ft (910 m) at 9:26:11 PM; tower control then directed the pilot to a heading of 040° at 9:27:56 PM. [15] At 9:30:03 PM, the controller advised the pilot the storm was moving east, favoring the approach to Runway 10, and the pilot agreed to redirect to 10. After the pilot was handed off to the radar controller, radar control cleared the aircraft for landing at 9:39:49 PM. [15]

Post-accident investigation showed the aircraft touched down approximately 1,600 feet (490 m) beyond the displaced threshold and veered right, reaching approximately 75 feet (23 m) from the Runway 10 centerline at a point 6,200 feet (1,900 m) from the displaced threshold. At that point, the aircraft had departed from the runway surface, later striking the seawall/embankment. [15]

A week after the accident, the aircraft was lifted onto a barge and floated up the St. Johns River and moved to shore at Reynolds Industrial Park in Green Cove Springs. After the NTSB investigation concluded, the plane was scrapped. [16] The NTSB issued an update to their investigation on May 23, 2019. [15]

On August 4, 2021, the NTSB published its final report, attributing the accident to a lack of runway grooving, which caused hydroplaning on touchdown and poor braking. [2] This was aggravated by the airline's inadequate runway evaluation guidelines, the flight crew's failure to abort the approach (which was unstabilized due to the captain's heavy workload), excessive airspeed on touchdown, the first officer's limited experience in heavy jets like the 737, and the pilots' failure to promptly deploy the speed brakes; however, the NTSB concluded that even if these errors had not occurred, the aircraft would still have been unable to stop under the prevailing conditions. [2] [9] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 1420</span> June 1999 runway overrun and crash in Arkansas, US

American Airlines Flight 1420 was a flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Little Rock National Airport in the United States. On June 1, 1999, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 operating as Flight 1420 overran the runway upon landing in Little Rock and crashed. Nine of the 145 people aboard were immediately killed—the captain and eight passengers. Two more passengers died in the hospital in the following weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Airlines Flight 585</span> 1991 aviation accident in Colorado

United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All 25 people on board the Boeing 737 were killed on impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Los Angeles runway collision</span> 1991 runway collision between two airplanes

On the evening of Friday, February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737-300, collided with SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft, upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). As Flight 1493 was on final approach, the local controller was distracted, though air traffic was not heavy at LAX, by a series of abnormalities, including a misplaced flight progress strip and an aircraft that had inadvertently switched off the tower frequency. The SkyWest flight was told to taxi into takeoff position, while the USAir flight was landing on the same runway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency landing</span> Aircraft landing made in response to a crisis

An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to terminate the flight. It typically involves a forced diversion to the nearest or most suitable airport or airbase, or an off airport landing or ditching if the flight cannot reach an airfield. Flights under air traffic control will be given priority over all other aircraft operations upon the declaration of the emergency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TACA Flight 110</span> 1988 plane emergency landing

TACA Flight 110 was a scheduled international airline flight operated by TACA International Airlines, traveling from San Salvador to New Orleans, with a stopover in Belize City. On May 24, 1988, the flight encountered severe thunderstorm activity on its final approach to New Orleans International Airport. As a result, the brand new Boeing 737-300 suffered flameout in both engines while descending through a severe thunderstorm, but the pilots made a successful emergency landing on a grass levee adjacent to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, with no one aboard sustaining more than a few minor injuries, and with only minor hail damage to the intact aircraft. Following an on-site engine replacement, the jetliner took off from Saturn Boulevard, a road which had previously been an aircraft runway at Michoud. The aircraft was subsequently repaired and returned to service until it was finally retired in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Airlines Flight 1248</span> 2005 aviation accident

Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 was a scheduled passenger flight from Baltimore, Maryland, to Chicago, Illinois, continuing on to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to Las Vegas, Nevada. On December 8, 2005, the airplane slid off a runway at Midway Airport in Chicago while landing in a snowstorm and crashed into automobile traffic, killing a six-year-old boy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Air Lines Flight 553</span> 1972 aviation accident

United Air Lines Flight 553 was a scheduled flight from Washington National Airport to Omaha, Nebraska, via Chicago Midway International Airport. On December 8, 1972, the Boeing 737-222 serving the flight City of Lincoln, registration N9031U, crashed while approaching Midway Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water landing</span> An aircraft landing intentionally on a body of water

In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water surface in an aircraft not designed for the purpose, a very rare occurrence. Controlled flight into the surface and uncontrolled flight ending in a body of water are generally not considered water landings or ditching, but are considered accidents. Most times, ditching ends up in aircraft structural failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Airlines Flight 1455</span> Aviation accident in California, USA

Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 was a scheduled passenger flight from McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, Burbank, California, that overran the runway during landing on March 5, 2000. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-3T5, registration N668SW, came to rest on a city street adjacent to a gas station. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the incident was due to the pilots attempting to land with excessive speed. They also found that the air traffic controller placed them in a position from which their only option was a go around. Two of the passengers were seriously injured, and there were many minor injuries. As a result of the incident, the airport installed an Engineered Materials Arrestor System at the east end of the incident runway. The aircraft was written off, making the incident the 10th hull loss of a Boeing 737-300. This was the first major accident in the airline's 29-year history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garuda Indonesia Flight 421</span> 2002 airliner ditching

Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 was a scheduled domestic flight operated by Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia travelling about 625 km from Ampenan to Yogyakarta. On January 16, 2002, the flight encountered severe thunderstorm activity during approach to its destination, suffered flameout in both engines, and ditched in a shallow river, resulting in one fatality and several injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Airlines Flight 1404</span> 2008 aviation accident

Continental Airlines Flight 1404 was a Continental Airlines domestic flight from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. On the evening of December 20, 2008, the flight crashed while taking off from Denver, resulting in two critical injuries, 36 noncritical injuries, and a hull loss of the Boeing 737-524 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 331</span> 2009 aviation accident

On 22 December 2009, an American Airlines Boeing 737-800, operating American Airlines Flight 331 and carrying 148 passengers and 6 crew, overran runway 12 on landing at Kingston in poor weather. The plane continued on the ground outside the airport perimeter and broke apart on the beach, causing injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Airlines Flight 345</span> 2013 aviation incident in New York City, US

Southwest Airlines Flight 345 was a scheduled flight from Nashville International Airport, Tennessee to New York City's LaGuardia Airport. On July 22, 2013, the Boeing 737 operating the route suffered a front landing-gear collapse while landing at LaGuardia Airport, injuring 9 people on board. The aircraft, which was worth an estimated $15.5 million at the time, was written off and scrapped as a result of the accident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Air Lines Flight 1086</span> 2015 aviation incident

Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 was a scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic passenger flight between Atlanta and New York's LaGuardia Airport. On March 5, 2015, the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 aircraft veered off the runway shortly after landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The plane ran up the seawall berm and struck the perimeter fence, sliding along it for approximately 940 feet (290 m) before coming to rest with the nose of the aircraft hanging over the berm above Flushing Bay. There were no fatalities, although 29 people suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was seriously damaged and written off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Canada Flight 759</span> 2017 aviation incident

On July 7, 2017, an Airbus A320-211 operating as Air Canada Flight 759 was nearly involved in an accident at San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County, California, United States. The flight, which originated at Toronto Pearson International Airport, had been cleared by air traffic control to land on runway 28R and was on final approach to land on that runway; however, instead of lining up with the runway, the aircraft had lined up with the parallel taxiway, on which four fully loaded and fueled passenger airplanes were stopped awaiting takeoff clearance. The flight crew initiated a go-around prior to landing, after which it landed on 28R without further incident. The aircraft on the taxiway departed for their intended destinations without further incident. The subsequent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the Air Canada airplane descended to 59 feet (18 m) above the ground before it began its climb, and that it missed colliding with one of the aircraft on the taxiway by 14 feet (4.3 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XiamenAir Flight 8667</span> 2018 aviation incident

XiamenAir Flight 8667 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, China, to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines. On 16 August 2018, the Boeing 737-85C (WL) operating this flight skidded off the runway while attempting to land in poor weather conditions. After leaving the runway, the aircraft hit obstacles that tore off the left engine and the left main gear. The crash occurred at 11:55 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (UTC+8), and resulted in the destruction of the aircraft. No serious injuries were reported among the crew or passengers. The damaged aircraft took 36 hours to remove from the runway, leading to a major disruption at the airport, which is the primary international gateway to the Philippines. The closure caused the cancellation of more than 200 domestic and international flights, affected more than 250,000 travelers, and prompted calls for enlargement of the airport or the construction of alternative airports to serve the country in the event of future disruptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegasus Airlines Flight 2193</span> February 2020 runway overrun incident in Istanbul, Turkey

Pegasus Airlines Flight 2193 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from İzmir to Istanbul in Turkey operated by Pegasus Airlines. On 5 February 2020, the Boeing 737-800 operating the route skidded off the runway while landing at Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, Turkey. Three people were killed, 179 people were injured, and the aircraft was destroyed. It was the first fatal accident in the airline's history. The accident came less than a month after another Pegasus Airlines accident involving a Boeing 737 skidding off the runway at the same airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RED Air Flight 203</span> 2022 aviation incident

RED Air Flight 203 (L5203/REA203) was a scheduled international commercial passenger flight from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Miami International Airport by RED Air. On 21 June 2022, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft operating the service suffered a left landing gear collapse and runway excursion, causing the left wing of the aircraft to impact an antenna structure, followed by a subsequent fire on the right side of the airplane. The incident caused three people to be hospitalized with minor injuries.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transportation Safety Board .

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ranter, Harro. "N732MA accident description". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Poor Braking Conditions Following Heavy Rain Led to 737 Runway Overrun" (Press release). National Transportation Safety Board. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021. ...even if none of those errors occurred, the airplane still would not have stopped on the ungrooved runway because the rainfall rate and runway characteristics contributed to water depths that caused the aircraft to hydroplane.
  3. Vassolo, Martin. "Plane carrying 143 slides off runway into river in Jacksonville. No one killed, sheriff says" . Miami Herald. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  4. "Boeing 737 skids into Florida river". BBC News. BBC. May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Zaveri, Mihir; Kramer, Margaret (May 3, 2019). "Boeing 737 Skids Into St. Johns River in Jacksonville". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  6. Koerner, Claudia (May 3, 2019). "A Plane Carrying 143 People Slid Off A Runway And Into A River In Florida". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  7. Paul, Deanna; Iati, Marisa; Donovan-Smith, Orion; Shapira, Ian (May 5, 2019). "Pets aboard the plane that crashed into Florida river are presumed dead". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286.
  8. Scanlan, Dan (May 3, 2019). "Airliner skids into St. Johns River at NAS Jacksonville". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report DCA19MA143". National Transportation Safety Board. August 4, 2021. DCA19MA143. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  10. "N732MA Miami Air International Boeing 737-81Q(WL)". www.planespotters.net. September 9, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  11. "NTSB releases report on 2019 Miami Air crash at NAS Jax". First Coast News. Gannett. April 21, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  12. Osborne, Mark. "Plane skids off runway into water; only minor injuries". ABC News. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  13. "Boeing 737 Plane With 143 On Board Skids Into St. Johns River In Jacksonville". NPR. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  14. "Landing feature failed on Florida plane". BBC News. May 6, 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Investigative Update - 5/23/2019" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. May 23, 2019. DCA19FA143. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  16. Ready, Jennifer (May 9, 2019). "Crews Hoist crashed Boeing 737 to land". News 4 Jacksonville. News 4 Jax. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  17. Doening, David (August 4, 2021). "NTSB: 'Extreme loss of braking friction' caused plane to slide into St. Johns River". WJXT. Associated Press. Retrieved November 17, 2021.

30°13′54″N81°40′13″W / 30.2318°N 81.6703°W / 30.2318; -81.6703