DHL B722 at Lagos on Sep 7th 2006, overran runway, nose gear separated

Last Update: February 19, 2013 / 17:27:01 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Sep 7, 2006

Classification
Report

Airline
DHL Aviation Africa

Departure
Accra, Ghana

Destination
Lagos, Nigeria

Aircraft Registration
ZS-DPF

Aircraft Type
Boeing 727-200

ICAO Type Designator
B722

A DHL Aviation Africa Boeing 727-200, registration ZS-DPF performing freight flight DHV-110 from Accra (Ghana) to Lagos (Nigeria) with 3 crew and 50,000 lbs/22 tons of cargo, performed an ILS approach to Lagos' runway 18L with the first officer (41, CPL, 2,972 hours total, 2,422 hours on type) being pilot flying, a squall was just moving across Lagos with cloud ceiling being reported 100 feet above minimum, the runway was wet in heavy rain, visibility 1000 meters and winds reported from 080 degrees at 18 knots maximum 30 knots. The aircraft was configured with gear down and flaps at 30 degrees (Vref=137 knots). During final approach, below 1000 feet with flaps at 30 degrees, the aircraft accelerated reaching a maximum speed of 186 KIAS at about 45 feet AGL, the aircraft subsequently slowed and touched down at 167 KIAS (30 knots above Vref) about 4680 feet/1427 meters past the runway threshold (runway length 9000 feet/2745 meters). The thrust reversers deployed and the aircraft began to decelerate, the captain (60, ATPL, 17,295 hours total, 7,820 hours on type) recognized they would not manage to stop before the runway end and commanded a go-around, the thrust reversers were momentarily stowed, the aircraft accelerated briefly, the thrust reversers were re-deployed and the aircraft continued to slow. The aircraft overran the end of the runway at approximately 80 knots, went through the localizer antenna and came to a stop about 1310 feet/400 meters past the runway end with the nose wheel assembly separated. No injuries occurred, the aircraft sustained substantial damage.

Nigeria's Accident Investigation Bureau (NAIB) released their final report concluding the probable causes of the accident were:

The decision of the crew to continue an unstabilised approach despite the prevailing adverse weather condition.

Contributory Factors

- The captain did not take over the control of the flight from the first officer in the known bad weather situation
- The crew resource management was inadequate.

The NAIB reported that the aircraft weighed 159888 lbs at landing, MLW was 160,000 lbs. Vref for flaps 30 and MLW was 137 knots.

The NAIB analysed: "With all the weather and speci reports, the captain should have taken over control from the first officer before landing but did not. With 600m visibility, squall and heavy rain, sky obscured, the decision to land by the crew was not appropriate particularly when the co-pilot was the pilot flying. The co-pilot in his statement saw the approach light at 430ft." and repeated: "The weather existing at the time of the accident and the unstable approach should have made the captain to take over from the first officer and discontinue with the approach and landing. The decision by the captain to go ahead and land under the severe weather condition was unprofessional, and shows inability to interpret the weather condition accurately."

With regards to the brief time the thrust reversers were stowed and positive acceleration occurred during landing, the NAIB analysed: "The positive longitudinal acceleration during the landing roll contributed to the amount of runway overrun as the airplane departed the runway at a greater airspeed than if the deceleration had remained throughout the landing roll."

The NAIB analysed that even with the thrust reversers maintained open during the entire roll out the aircraft would not have been able to stop before the end of the runway, however would have exited the runway at a much lower speed.

Two safety recommendations were released as result of the investigation.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Sep 7, 2006

Classification
Report

Airline
DHL Aviation Africa

Departure
Accra, Ghana

Destination
Lagos, Nigeria

Aircraft Registration
ZS-DPF

Aircraft Type
Boeing 727-200

ICAO Type Designator
B722

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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