History of the Incident
On 7 January 2016, a Boeing 737-400, registered YR-BAS, operated by Blue Air – Airline Management Solutions S.R.L., was conducting a charter flight from Bucharest to Barcelona with a stopover at Cluj “Avram Iancu” International Airport (LRCL). The aircraft departed Henri Coandă Airport (LROP) at 07:14 LT under callsign BMS 9301. The takeoff and en-route flight were normal.
During the descent, the crew completed standard checklists and configured the aircraft for landing with the autobrake set to position 2, flaps at 40°, and established the approach route. After receiving clearances from air traffic control, the crew followed the ETORA2T RNAV STAR for landing on runway 25.
Upon crossing the runway 25 threshold, the aircraft entered a prolonged flare lasting approximately 10 seconds. It touched down on the runway and began to decelerate. The crew manually operated the braking system on the latter part of the runway, but the aircraft did not slow sufficiently to remain on the paved surface. The aircraft came to a stop off the end of runway 07. The incident occurred around 08:00 LT.
Meteorological Information
According to the flight folder, the METAR for Cluj Airport at 05:00 LT indicated wind from 250° at 3 kt, visibility 3000 m, freezing rain, mist, 8/8 cloud cover with a ceiling at 5200 ft, temperature -1°C, QNH 995 hPa, and a braking coefficient of 95. The TAF forecast temporary conditions between 07:00 and 14:00 LT with visibility 1500 m, snowfall, a broken ceiling at 500 ft, and an overcast ceiling at 3000 ft. The runway was covered with a forecast 3 mm layer of wet snow, possibly up to 1 cm in reality.
Conclusions
Investigation determined that the cause of the serious incident was the prolonged flare flight, followed by touchdown at a distance of approximately 2300 ft (700 m) from the runway 25 threshold. The aircraft reached the end of the runway and stopped off the paved surface. There were no injuries to persons and the aircraft was not damaged.