Overview
On an unspecified date, TACA Airlines Flight 390, an Airbus A320 with Irish registration EI-TAF, carrying 135 passengers and crew, overran the end of runway 02 during landing at Tegucigalpa. The overrun resulted in the deaths of three people on the aircraft and two individuals on the ground.
Investigation
The government of Honduras delegated the investigation to the Salvadoran Civil Aviation Authorities, as per Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention. International cooperation included two investigators from the French BEA, accompanied by five technical advisors from Airbus; two investigators from the US NTSB, with one advisor from the FAA and one from IAE; and one investigator from Ireland. Both flight recorders (CVR and DFDR) were recovered and sent to the NTSB for readout. Analysis was performed by the BEA and Airbus under the lead of the investigating authorities.
Flight History
Before landing, air traffic control provided wind information as 190°/10 knots and confirmed that the runway was wet. The captain was the pilot flying. The aircraft was dispatched without any deferred maintenance items. Landing configuration was established with slats and flaps fully extended, landing gear down, ground spoilers armed, and autobrake selected to MED. The landing weight was 63.5 tonnes (maximum 64.5 tonnes), and the approach speed (Vapp) was 137 knots.
Landing Sequence
The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 02 and touched down with autopilot and flight directors off, but autothrust engaged in managed speed mode. At touchdown, indicated airspeed was 139 knots and ground speed was 159 knots (estimated tailwind of 12 knots from DFDR data). Runway 02 has an elevation of 3,297 feet and a displaced threshold of 213 meters; the landing distance available is 1,649 meters. Touchdown occurred approximately 400 meters past the displaced threshold.
After touchdown, the crew selected maximum reverse thrust; both engine reversers and ground spoilers deployed normally. The nosewheel touched down 7 seconds after the main landing gear. Manual braking began 4 seconds after main gear touchdown and reached maximum pedal braking at 14 seconds after main gear touchdown. At 70 knots indicated airspeed, the pilot not flying called out, and the pilot flying selected idle reverse. The remaining distance to the runway end was about 190 meters. The aircraft overran at 54 knots, dropped down a 20-meter embankment, and sustained severe damage on impact. Landing performance analysis showed consistency with runway conditions and crew actions.
Probable Cause
The official findings listed contributing factors: wrong approach configuration; excessive speed upon landing; the aircraft touched down too far down the runway with a tailwind component; the crew failed to recalculate landing weight and landing distance; the non-precision approach was completed in poor weather conditions, increasing cockpit workload; the absence of a stopping zone at the end of runway 02 contributed to the severity; and the wet runway surface without a water drainage system reduced the braking coefficient.