What happened
A four-engine aircraft departed from runway 02 of Brussels-Zavantem Airport at 09:29 local time, operating a charter service to Tenerife-Sur Reina Sofia. The flight was carrying 110 passengers and seven crew members. During the climb to 7,000 feet, an explosion occurred in engine number 3, which subsequently ignited. In response to the fire, the crew declared an emergency and received clearance to return to the airport for landing on runway 25L.
Following the containment of the fire, the aircraft performed a final turn on approach. Due to excessive approach speed, the pilot opted to land on the wet surface of runway 25R instead. Upon touchdown, the crew engaged the thrust reversers on engines 1 and 4 and began emergency braking. As the aircraft reached approximately 80 knots, the captain determined that the remaining runway length was inadequate and steered the plane toward the left side of the runway. The aircraft veered off the paved surface into loose soil, where it eventually stopped. While all 117 occupants were successfully evacuated, the four-engine aircraft sustained damage beyond repair.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the initial engine failure was caused by the disintegration of a compressor blade in the tenth stage due to fatigue cracks. Several contributing factors led to the runway excursion:
- The aircraft was operating with one engine non-functional during the approach.
- The total weight of the aircraft exceeded the maximum allowable landing weight.
- The approach speed was too high.
- Ineffective use of braking systems by the crew.
- Failure to utilize all available deceleration options.