What happened
On October 21, 2016, an Airbus A300-B4-203, registration PR-STN, operated by Sterna Airlines Ltd., was performing a cargo flight from Guarulhos to Recife. Upon landing on runway 18 at Gilberto Freyre International Aerodrome, the aircraft drifted to the right, crossed the lateral limits of the runway, and came to a stop in an adjacent grassy area.
During the excursion, the nose landing gear experienced severe stress, resulting in fractures to the steering, lowering, and locking mechanisms, which caused the gear to collapse and retract. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, including structural damage to the fuselage near the nose gear housing and engine ingestion of wreckage. The main landing gear brake assemblies also overheated due to heavy braking demands. All four occupants—three crewmembers and one passenger—were unharmed.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation established that the aircraft's power levers were not reduced to the IDLE position during the flare. Flight Data Recorder (FDR) analysis revealed that three seconds after touchdown, the engine 1 power lever was advanced to maximum takeoff power, while the engine 2 lever was adjusted to idle and subsequently to reverse. This created a significant thrust asymmetry.
The investigation also found that the crew failed to follow the checklist regarding the verification of the left lever position. Furthermore, the Pilot Monitoring (PM) became preoccupied with manual braking and steering inputs rather than monitoring systems, which delayed the identification of the thrust imbalance. The investigation noted that the crew's failure to reduce throttles at 20 feet prevented the automatic deployment of ground spoilers, as the aircraft's configuration remained inconsistent with standard landing procedures.
Findings
- Asymmetric thrust caused by the simultaneous advancement of one engine to maximum takeoff power and the other to reverse thrust.
- Improper use of aircraft controls, specifically the failure to reduce power levers to IDLE during the landing flare.
- Ineffective Crew Resource Management (CRM), characterized by the PM's loss of monitoring responsibilities and a lack of situational awareness regarding the left lever position.
- Non-compliance with established procedures, including the failure to use the required checklists and the adoption of landing practices that deviated from the Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM).
- Organizational culture issues, where an informal environment and reliance on experience over standardized procedures contributed to a lack of safety culture.