What happened
On June 10, an Airbus A310, registration ST-ATN, was operating a flight from Damascus to Khartoum with 203 passengers and 11 crew members. Earlier that day, the aircraft had diverted to Port Sudan due to poor weather conditions. After a brief period on the ground for refueling, the flight resumed its journey toward Khartoum.
During the approach to runway 36 at Khartoum, the pilot received information regarding a wind of 320 degrees at 7 knots and noted the runway surface was wet. At the time of the flight, the number one engine's thrust reverser was unserviceable and had been deactivated in accordance with the Minimum Equipment List (MEL).
The aircraft touched down approximately 900 meters from the runway threshold. Upon deploying the available thrust reverser, the pilot encountered difficulty maintaining the centerline. The aircraft failed to decelerate sufficiently, resulting in a longitudinal overrun that extended 215 meters beyond the end of the runway. Following the excursion, a fire ignited on the right side of the aircraft. Because the right-hand slides failed to deploy, the crew and passengers were forced to evacuate via the left forward slide. The accident resulted in 30 fatalities, including 29 passengers and one cabin crew member.
Findings
Investigation into the event identified that the primary cause was an excessive flaring distance on a slippery runway. The pilot initiated the flare 900 meters from the threshold without utilizing the autobrake function, which, combined with the deactivated left engine thrust reverser, left insufficient distance to stop the aircraft. The presence of a tailwind and the crew's lack of awareness regarding ground speed and wind conditions were also noted as contributing factors.