Spanair MD-83 Hard Landing at Asturias Airport (EC-GQG)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On Sunday, January 23, 2005, at 19:05 local time, a Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration EC-GQG, operating flight JKK5811, experienced a hard landing at Asturias Airport. The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic passenger service from Palma de Mallorca to Oviedo, with subsequent legs to Madrid and Santiago. The flight departed Palma at 17:04 local time. ## Weather and Approach Conditions Adverse weather conditions at Asturias Airport, including rain, fog, and a cloud ceiling of 300 feet, triggered low-visibility procedures at 18:14. The aircraft held over the Asturias VOR at flight level 100. As conditions improved, the crew resumed an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to runway 29. Air traffic control reported surface winds of 050°/10 kt with gusts to 18 kt, resulting in a tailwind component of 5 to 9.5 kt, and a wet runway. The crew was aware of the aircraft's 10 kt tailwind limit. ## Approach and Impact The pilot flying disconnected the autopilot at 270 feet, while the autothrottle remained engaged. In the final seconds, the vertical speed increased, exceeding 1,000 fpm at times. Two seconds before impact, the autothrottle activated ALPHA SPEED mode, followed by RETARD mode. The pilot reported observing an uncommanded descent at approximately 50 feet and attempted to compensate by increasing engine thrust. The aircraft struck the runway at 19:05:32 with a vertical acceleration of 4.11g. It briefly returned to the air with a slight right bank, landing again to the right of the runway centerline and striking a runway edge light. The crew then re-centered the aircraft and initiated braking using spoilers and reverse thrust. ## Damage and Injuries The hard impact caused significant fuselage damage near the rear cargo hold and the loss of the right main landing gear deflector. The runway edge light was also damaged and required replacement. The commander sustained a spinal injury requiring hospitalization and surgery, which incapacitated him after the initial impact. The first officer assumed control of the aircraft during the bounce and taxiing. One crew member was seriously injured, two were lightly injured, and 37 passengers were uninjured. No fatalities were reported.