History of Flight
On April 20, 2009, Royal Air Maroc (RAM) flight 200, a Boeing 767-300 (registration CN-RNT), landed on runway 4R at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, New York. The flight originated from Casablanca-Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco, operating as a scheduled passenger flight under 14 CFR Part 129. There were 210 passengers and 10 crew members onboard; no injuries were reported, but the airplane received substantial damage.
The first officer was the flying pilot. The takeoff, climb, en route, and descent were normal. At approximately 1519 eastern daylight time, flight 200 checked in with the tower and was cleared to land on runway 4R. According to flight data recorder (FDR) data, the airplane was coupled to the ILS with three autopilots engaged through about 2,100 feet radio altitude (RA). Airspeed variations occurred throughout the descent.
At about 1,400 feet RA, the autopilot transitioned to Land 3 mode, with the selected airspeed at 150 knots (Vref for landing weight and Flaps 30 was 133 knots). The METAR reported winds from 060 degrees at 16 knots gusting to 24 knots. At about 770 feet RA, the autopilot and autothrottle were disengaged. Airspeed varied between 166 knots and 142 knots until touchdown.
The airplane crossed the runway threshold at 160 knots and 55 ft RA, with calculated wind components of 13 knots headwind and 19 knots crosswind from the right. Touchdown occurred about 1,600 feet from the threshold in a 5-degree right bank at a descent rate of about 5 feet per second; recorded normal acceleration at main gear touchdown was 1.35g. A full nose-down control column input was initiated at main gear touchdown, and the normal acceleration at nose gear touchdown was 1.8g. Crew members reported hearing an unusual noise from the forward fuselage concurrent with nose gear touchdown.
The landing rollout and taxi to the gate were normal. After parking, the captain requested a hard landing check in the maintenance log.
Damage to Aircraft
Fuselage skin between Station 610 and Station 654 exhibited numerous skin tears and wrinkles, located midway between the nose and main landing gear, confined to the crown area above the window belts. No damage was observed below the floor structure. Additional dents and creases were found between Station 588 and Station 650 from Stringers 17L to 21L, with light pillowing below Stringer 20 between Station 632 and Station 654. Further damage extended across various stringers and stations.
Numerous fuselage frame structures between Station 610 and Station 654 showed buckling, twisting, and fracture. Frames were buckled at Station 610 between Stringers 4L and 5L and between Stringers 11R and 12R; at Station 632 at Stringer 1L; and at Station 654 at Stringer 15R. The frame at Station 632 was twisted and cracked between Stringers 12L and 16L, and at Station 654, it was buckled and cracked at Stringer 15L.
All stringers between Station 434 and Station 654 were bent, deformed, or cracked. The mid entry door counter balance supports were buckled at Stringers 4L and 5L between Station 610 and Station 632. At Station 287, the nose landing gear aft bulkhead web exhibited buckling outboard of Stringers 24L and 24R upward to Stringers 36L and 36R, with diagonal pillowing.
No structural repairs were found in the damage area, and all examined fracture surfaces showed evidence of overload failure without corrosion.
Personnel Information
The captain, age 53, was hired by RAM on October 15, 1975. He held an ATP certificate with airplane multiengine land and B-757/767 type rating, and a first-class medical certificate dated November 20, 2008, with no limitations. He had 21,754 total flight hours, including 2,288 hours in the B-767. In the previous 90, 30, and 24 hours, he flew 126, 21, and 8 hours, respectively. His last proficiency check was on December 22, 2008.
The first officer, age 42, was hired by RAM on January 2, 1990. He held an ATP certificate with airplane multiengine land and B-757/767 type rating, and a first-class medical certificate dated January 21, 2009, with no limitations. He had 9,621 total flight hours, including 2,149 hours in the B-767. In the previous 90, 30, and 24 hours, he flew 137, 59, and 8 hours, respectively. His last proficiency check was on February 13, 2009.
Meteorological Information
At 1451 EDT, the METAR reported winds from 060 degrees at 16 knots gusting to 24 knots, visibility 5 miles in light rain, broken ceiling at 1,800 feet, overcast at 4,000 feet, temperature 7°C, dew point 4°C, altimeter 30.07 inHg. At 1536 EDT, a SPECI reported winds from 070 degrees at 20 knots gusting to 26 knots, visibility 6 miles in light rain and mist, overcast ceiling at 1,400 feet, temperature 7°C, dew point 5°C, altimeter 30.04 inHg.
Flight Recorders
The airplane was equipped with a solid-state Honeywell SSFDR and a solid-state Honeywell 2-hour CVR, both in good condition. Data extraction was normal. The CVR audio quality was very poor, with most inter-cockpit communication in Arabic, and no conversations were considered material to the accident; thus, no transcript was made.
Additional Information
Boeing estimated the peak nose gear load during landing at 135,100 to 189,600 pounds, exceeding the design-limit load of 130,000 pounds. Three similar events involving B-767-300 aircraft were noted: an Asian Airlines event on January 16, 1992; an American Airlines event on October 27, 1992; and a LOT event on December 31, 1993. The accident airplane had modifications installed: an optimized nose gear metering pin and strengthened forward fuselage upper crown stringers. Boeing produced a training video on over-derotation awareness; it is unknown if the crew had viewed it.
The NTSB was notified of the accident on April 23, 2010.