Flight History
Air Micronesia Flight 614 departed Saipan at 07:30 for a flight to Palau with intermediate stops in Guam and Yap, Western Caroline Islands. The aircraft departed Guam at 08:30 and climbed to flight level 350. An en route descent to Yap was made from the north through broken to scattered clouds.
Approach and Landing
The captain, who was flying the aircraft, turned onto a downwind leg at the northeast portion of the airport. The downwind leg was flown at an altitude of 600 feet above the runway 07 elevation while the crew checked for runway clearance, fire truck positioning, and windsock direction. Flaps were set at 30° on the base leg. Abeam the approach end of runway 07, the captain began a right 90° and a left turn manoeuvre to align the aircraft with the final approach. During a portion of the downwind leg, the captain relinquished control to the first officer while taking pictures of the airport. He then resumed control and passed the camera to the second officer, asking him to take pictures of the runway.
As the aircraft passed through 90° from the runway heading, it had descended to about 300 feet above the runway elevation of 52 feet mean sea level. When the aircraft was aligned with the runway heading, it was about 480 feet above runway elevation at a point 1.5 miles from the approach end. At 09:52, the aircraft touched down 13 feet short of runway 07. The right main landing gear immediately separated from the aircraft.
Post-Impact
The aircraft gradually veered off the runway and came to rest in the jungle about 1,700 feet beyond the initial touchdown. A severe ground fire erupted immediately along the right side of the aircraft as it came to rest. All occupants evacuated within about one minute after the aircraft came to rest.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause was the captain's premature reduction of thrust, combined with a shallow approach slope angle and an improper touchdown aim point, resulting in a high rate of descent and a touchdown on upward sloping terrain short of the runway threshold. This generated loads exceeding the design strength, causing the right-hand landing gear to fail. Contributing to the accident were the captain's lack of recent experience in the B-727 aircraft and the transfer of his DC-10 aircraft landing habits and techniques to the operation of the B-727 aircraft.