AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 331

Date: 22 DEC 2009

Time: 22:22

Type: Boeing 737-823 (WL)

Operator: American Airlines

Registration: N977AN

First flight: 2001-11-30 (8 years )

Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-7B27

Crew : Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6

Passengers : Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 148

Total : Fatalities : 0 / Occupants: 154

Airplane damage: Destroyed

Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)

Location: Kingston-Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) (Jamaica)

Phase: Landing (LDG)

Nature: International Scheduled Passenger

Departure airport: Miami International Airport, FL (MIA/KMIA), United States of America

Destination airport: Kingston-Norman Manley International Airport (KIN/MKJP), Jamaica

Flight Number: 331

American Airlines Flight 331 was a scheduled international flight from Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC to Kingston, Jamaica, via Miami, carrying 148 passengers and six crew,^[which overran the runway during a landing hampered by poor weather. The plane continued on the ground outside the airport perimeter and broke apart causing injuries.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-823, registration N977AN. The aircraft was msn 29550 and made its first flight on 30 November 2001. The aircraft made its first flights under registration N1786B and was delivered to American Airlines on 20 December 2001

Accident

The flight originated at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C., with a stopover at Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida. At 22:22 local time (03:22, 23 December UTC), the Boeing 737-823 skidded during landing on runway 12 and overran the pavement, sustaining serious damage. Heavy rain was reported at the time. After the accident, a special weather report was issued.

Some passengers indicated cabin service was suspended several times during the flight, before being cancelled outright due to turbulence; others report the jet may have landed long on the runway.

It was also announced that some of the airport's approach lights were not working at the time of the accident. Jamaican officials downplayed the role of the malfunctioning lights in the crash, noting that aircrews had been notified and that the actual runway was properly lit. The ground-based navigation aids were evaluated by a check aircraft after the accident and were determined to be functioning normally.

The aircraft sustained substantial damage during the accident, with the entire fuselage fracturing forward and aft of the wing, one wing losing an engine and the other its winglet tip, and the nose section being crushed. The landing gear failed and put the aircraft on its belly. Its momentum carried it through the perimeter fence at freeway speeds, and across Norman Manley Highway before finally coming to rest, upright within meters of Kingston's outer harbour and the open Caribbean Sea. The 737 was damaged beyond economic repair

Investigation

Reports showed the crew had contacted Jamaica Air Traffic Control to request the Instrument Landing System approach for Runway 12, the designated runway broadcasted by the Automatic Terminal Information Service for arrivals that night. They were, however, advised of tailwind conditions on Runway 12 and offered a circling approach for landing on Runway 30. "The crew repeated their request for Runway 12 and were subsequently cleared to land on that runway with the controller further advising the crew that the runway was wet."

Jamaican Director General of Civil Aviation Col. Oscar Derby, stated in the week following the accident, that the jet touched down about halfway down the 8,910 feet (2,720 m) runway. He also noted that the 737-800 is equipped with a head-up display meant to aid landings within the first 1,000 feet (300 m) of a runway. Other factors being investigated include "tailwinds, and a rain soaked runway;" the runway in question was not equipped with rain-dispersing grooves common at larger airports. The aircraft held a relatively heavy fuel load at the time of landing; it was carrying enough fuel for a roundtrip flight back to the US.

The FDR later revealed that the aircraft touched down some 4,100 feet (1,200 m) down the 8,910 feet (2,720 m) long runway. Normally touchdown would be between 1,000 feet (300 m) and 1,500 feet (460 m). The aircraft was still travelling 72 miles per hour (116 km/h) when it departed the end of the runway. The aircraft landed with a 16 miles per hour (26 km/h) tailwind, just within its limit of 17 miles per hour (27 km/h).

After the crash it was announced American Airlines was involved in an FAA review of company landing procedures following three landing incidents in two weeks; in the other two instances plane wingtips touched the ground during landing.