What happened
On a night flight from Miami, Florida, to Ottawa, Ontario, a Miami Air Boeing 727-200A, registration not provided, was performing an instrument landing system approach to runway 07. During the descent, the crew attempted to use spoilers to manage speed, but retracted them after a configuration warning horn sounded. The aircraft's approach became unstable, characterized by several level-offs and an airspeed of 180 knots at the final approach fix, significantly exceeding the required 130 knots for its weight.
As the aircraft approached the runway, the crew maintained a high speed, crossing the threshold at 160 knots and 11 and 0 feet above ground level. The aircraft touched down 3,800 feet past the threshold. Although the crew eventually applied maximum braking and reverse thrust, the aircraft could not stop before exiting the runway, coming to rest 234 feet beyond the end of the pavement. There were no injuries to the nine crew members on board, and the aircraft sustained no damage.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's performance, the runway conditions, and the flight crew's procedures. Investigators found that the runway was wet but that no hydroplaning had occurred, as evidenced by the lack of reverted rubber on the tires or runway. The aircraft's braking system was found to be fully serviceable.
Analysis of the flight data revealed that the captain's landing technique involved a gentle touchdown attempt, which, when combined with the excessive speed, caused the aircraft to float. Furthermore, the investigation looked into the air traffic control environment, noting that a special weather report had been issued but the tower controller was unaware of the update due to the lack of a reliable alert system for new weather sequences.
Findings
- The primary cause of the overrun was an unstable approach that left the aircraft too high and too fast over the runway threshold.
- The high touchdown speed and long landing distance were exacerbated by the crew's lack of an aggressive landing technique and the failure to initiate a go-around.
- The delay in effective deceleration was due to the lack of immediate and sustained application of braking and reverse thrust.
- The tower controller failed to follow the airport's emergency response plan by not obtaining and relaying critical information—such as passenger count and dangerous goods—to the responding emergency services.
- The air traffic control system lacks a standardized method to alert controllers to new weather updates, which prevented the crew from being informed of changing conditions.