Xiamen Airlines Flight 8667

On 16 August 2018, a Boeing 737-800 operating as XiamenAir Flight 8667 skidded off the runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila while attempting to land in poor weather conditions. The crash occurred at 11:55 pm (UTC+8) after a two and a half hour flight from Xiamen.[1]

Xiamen Airlines Flight 8667
Wreckage of B-5498 on the apron at Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Accident
Date16 August 2018 (2018-08-16)
SummaryCrash-landed in poor weather conditions; Under Investigation.
SiteNinoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-800
OperatorXiamenAir
IATA flight No.MF 8667
ICAO flight No.CXA 8667
Call signXiamenair 8667
RegistrationB-5498
Flight originXiamen Gaoqi International Airport, Xiamen
DestinationNinoy Aquino International Airport, Metro Manila
Occupants165
Passengers157
Crew8
Fatalities0
Injuries0
Survivors165

While the crash had no fatalities, numerous flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were suspended. The runway 06/24 was closed from the time of the incident until 05:00 am on 18 August 2018 (UTC +08).[2] One of the aircraft's engine was torn off by the impact.[3][4]

The flight crew operating the flight are quoted as saying that the torrential downpour obstructed visual navigation to the runway on final approach. However, transcripts between the air traffic controller and the crew did not indicate anything unusual.[5]

The accident was probed by the Senate of the Philippines through its Senate Committee on Public Services which was headed by Senator Grace Poe. The hearing, attended by XiamenAir officials, took place on 29 August 2018.[6]

Accident

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-800, registration B-5498 with Manufacturer Serial Number 37574 and line number 3160.[7] It was powered by 2 CFM International CFM56 turbofan engines and first flew on 14 January 2010.[8]

The accident occurred at around 23:55 Philippine Standard Time (UTC+08:00) when the aircraft was on approach for Ninoy Aquino International Airport for the second time. The crew had aborted a landing attempt on runway 24 fifteen minutes prior. They lost contact with the control tower on the second approach.[9]

At the time of the second attempt, there was a strong thunderstorm with strong winds and poor visibility. The aircraft skidded off the left edge of the runway and stopped on the soft ground with the left main landing gear and the left engine being separated from the main fuselage.[10] The aircraft was written off as the result of the accident.

The 157 passengers and 8 crew on board were evacuated on the evacuation slides with no injuries or deaths being reported.

Two minutes after the accident, the airport's Emergency Plan No.1 was immediately put into effect, with all of its available fire trucks being dispatched to the crash site. This was followed by the airport police and the medical team to attend the injured.

The aircraft was positioned approximately 80 meters from the center point of the runway, about 70 meters short of the safety guidelines set by the International Civil Aviation Organization for the continued use of the airstrip, meaning that the runway was closed until the aircraft and its debris was removed from the runway. This caused the cancellations of around 280 flights with flight scheduled to land rerouted to Clark International Airport and other nearby airports.[11]

At 2:10 Philippine Standard Time, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) arrived to gather evidence and remove the aircraft's black box, which took 4 hours. After this, the airport removed the aircraft from the runway using a telescoping crane. The process of removing the plane took around 26 hours.[11] As of 16 November 2019, the damaged aircraft remains on an apron at NAIA with the cockpit and forward quarter of the fuselage covered by a tarpaulin. The aircraft is leaning to one side on its belly with an engine missing.

Investigation

The accident was investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). Along with the Flight Safety Investigation Committee(FSIC) to determine the possible civil air regulation violations of XiamenAir. The United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure also conducted their own independent investigation on the accident.[12]

The aircraft's black box was sent to Singapore for decoding, the AAIIB said that the aircraft's black box was of good quality but also stated that due to the Philippine aviation rules, they are prevented from revealing the contents until after the final report is submitted to authorities.[13]

The AAIIB and CAAP also interviewed the pilots, investigated the crew and checked the service records of the aircraft as part of their investigation.

See also

References
  1. Zhang, Benjamin; Ma, Alexandra (17 August 2018). "Chinese Boeing 737 crash-lands at Manila airport". Business Insider. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  2. "NAIA runway closure extended until 5 a.m. Saturday". ABS-CBN News. August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  3. Manila runway incident a ‘wake-up call’ says official, Gulf News, 18 August 2018
  4. XiamenAir plane skids off runway in 'crash landing' at Manila Airport, Fox News, 16 August 2018
  5. Xiamen pilot blames heavy rains for NAIA runway overshoot: sources, ABS-CBN, 19 August 2018
  6. Ager, Maila (29 August 2018). "Senate probes Xiamen Air runway mishap". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  7. "B=5498 General Information". Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  8. "XiamenAir 8667 Accident Summary". AviationSafetyNetwork. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  9. "Xiamen Air passenger jet overshoots runway in Manila, no casualties". The Straits Times. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  10. Hradecky, Simon (17 August 2018). "Accident: Xiamen B738 at Manila on Aug 16th 2018, runway excursion on landing". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  11. Masigan, Andrew J. (23 September 2018). "The truth about the Xiamen Air crash". BusinessWorld. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  12. Colcol, Erwin (20 August 2018). "House panel to probe Xiamen Airlines incident". GMA News. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  13. Santos, Rudy (4 September 2018). "Xiamen Air black box decoded; results with CAAP". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
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