Thankfully not fatal.

I am glad to hear that there were no fatalities.

I don't think FlexGlue or duct tape will fix that damage though.

With no injury updates at the moment, the pilots are darn lucky to survive...

Now that is the kind of special effects and crash modeling we new in Flight Sim next!!

Good news that all are OK. I would expect that the airport bar had some rush when those folks got off the ramp transport.

I also read that they had a strong tailwind.  Maybe the wrong approach in the FMC or conditions changed.  Also heavy rain during the approach. 

Jim Driskell

I was going to say, I can't believe no one was hurt in that crash.

No loss of life is acceptable but if there was only one fatality I'd still describe that as somewhat miraculous. RIP

 I hope the pilot and co-pilot make full recoveries.

Sadly, when you see that kind of impact, it's almost inevitable passengers in the location of the fuselage breaks will receive injuries.

Oddly enough, I had to stop on the airport today to let a Pegasus airliner pass by; the crew of it obligingly throttled up a bit to speed up past the junction where I was waiting. I was thinking as it passed by, that airline has a nice livery.

7 hours ago, rjfry said:

Thankfully not fatal.

Unfortunately 3 are reported dead.

Why were they landing in that direction with a "strong tailwind"?

Edited February 6, 20206 yr by Christopher Low

4 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

Why were they landing in that direction with a "strong tailwind"?

I don’t know what a journalist means exactly by ‘strong tailwind’ in actual knots tailwind component, but a tailwind in itself is not a disqualifier for landing. Airliners typically have a max allowable 10kts tailwind component codified in the limitations section. As long as your tailwind component is within that limit, and you took it into account when you checked your landing numbers and it was a-ok, there is no reason not to accept that runway. Perfectly legal and perfectly safe.

There are reasons we would have to land with a tailwind up to our limit. The most common one is traffic flow. Atc at some major airports will prefer a certain runway configuration and will be reluctant to reconfigure to a different, less convenient runway program unless they absolutely have to. For example, houston intercontinental operates on arrivals on the 26’s and departures on the 15’s, because that is their optimal or preferred flow, they get the most planes in and out that way or bother fewer neighbors. Only when the tailwind hits 10kts and people start going around will they change to the 8’s.

In new york, if one airport has to change which way it goes, it means 3 other busy airports will also have to change which way they go. It means planes holding airborne during the transition, enroute delays, and planes that have been taxiing in a line for the runway having to turnaround and go back the other way. Not a small task. Atc will use all of that allowable 10kts tailwind.

Some airports though, as busy as they are, will change runways on a whim or the clock. Like boston.

There may be weather, such as a thunderstorm that may make an approach from one direction inadvisable, forcing a tailwind landing. Stormy weather can also make for odd wind situations like completely opposite winds between surface and aloft. You will be faced with either having a headwind at the surface but a tailwind on approach or a tailwind on the surface for a headwind on approach.

In a runway overrun accident in reported tailwinds, little doubt exists that the tailwind will be a factor. The question to settle first will be was the tailwind legal? If not, then there you go, close the case and go home. If it was legal, then you will have to look for some other thing and maybe combine it with the tailwind. So what exactly was the metar and runway at the time of the accident, that is the first thing to look at for a crash like this.

Edited February 6, 20206 yr by KevinAu

15 minutes ago, KevinAu said:

 So what exactly was the metar and runway at the time of the accident, that is the first thing to look at for a crash like this.

RWY 06  >   LTFJ 051520Z 29022G37KT 240V330 7000 -TSRA FEW017CB BKN025 BKN070 11/09 Q0992 RESHRA NOSIG=   

Runway 06 in those winds. Close the case and go home.

Actually before we go home, what did the wx radar look like at the time? And also, this metar looks like it was cut after the accident. What was the metar that was current at the time? That would be the one that played into the decision making. 

Edited February 6, 20206 yr by KevinAu

It looks wet.

32 minutes ago, KevinAu said:

 What was the metar that was current at the time? That would be the one that played into the decision making. 

The wind given by the tower before landing was the same as in the above wx report.

17 minutes ago, FDEdev said:

The wind given by the tower before landing was the same as in the above wx report.

That won’t look good in the report. It does make me wonder why the tower had not switched the runway around already though.

Edited February 6, 20206 yr by KevinAu