Boeing 737-3G7 N306AW

Summary

On 25 August 2001 at about 06:11 local time, a Boeing 737-3G7 registered N306AW was involved in an accident near Kansas City, Missouri, United States. 59 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 August 2001 at 06:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Kansas City International (MCI)

Coordinates

39.2691, -94.7308

Aircraft

Boeing 737-3G7

Registration

N306AW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Kansas City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CHI01FA292

1 person had minor injuries.

The second in command failed to maintain proper runway alignment, directional control, and landed long. The pilot in command failed to execute a go-around and failed to provide adequate supervision. Additional factors included the thunderstorm, the dark night, the muddy terrain, and the FODed engines.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The transport airplane sustained substantial damage during landing when it veered off the left side of runway 27 at 0111 cst and both engines sustained foreign object damage (FOD). Level 4 and 5 thunderstorms were in the vicinity of the airport at the time of the accident. The ASOS rain gauge on the airport indicated 0.42 inches of rain fell between 0100 and 0111. The wind was from the northwest at less than 10 knots, and no significant low-level windshear was present at the time of the accident. The first officer was the flying pilot. The Flight Data Recorder data indicated the airplane was on a stabilized instrument approach with the autopilot engaged until about 200 feet above ground level (agl), when the autopilot was disconnected and the airplane was flown manually. After the autopilot disconnect, the airplane began drifting left and above glide slope. The airplane crossed the runway threshold at about 57 feet agl, offset about 65 feet left of centerline, but the ground track was being corrected back toward centerline. A flare was initiated about 600 feet past the runway threshold and about 35 feet agl. During the flare, the ground track achieved the centerline, but deviated back to the left before main gear touchdown, which occurred about 3,200 feet past the runway threshold. At touchdown, the left main gear was about 56 feet left of centerline with an airplane ground track of about 5 degrees to the left. Within 2 seconds of touchdown (about 300 feet of travel), the left main gear crossed the white runway edge strip, and within 5 seconds of touchdown (about 1,000 feet of travel), the left main gear departed the paved surface. A nearly full right rudder input was made at about 3,450 feet from the runway threshold after main gear touchdown. The airplane departed the runway surface before the ground track altered back to the right. The company's Operations Manual states, "Control Glidepath so that touchdown occurs on the 1000 foot point (Fixed Distance Marker)...If an unsatisfactory approach is likely to result in a long landing, GO AROUND and make a second approach."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.