What happened
During an approach to runway 07 at San José-Juan Santamaría Airport, the crew encountered significant weather challenges. Dense fog resulted in restricted visibility, making it difficult for the flight crew to identify the runway or its lighting infrastructure. While on short final, the pilot-in-command, who was the co-pilot at the time, was relieved of duties by the captain after the latter noticed the aircraft was not correctly aligned with the glide path.
Despite the captain's efforts to stabilize the flight path and correct the trajectory, the aircraft remained unstable and continued a descent that led it to land to the right of the runway. Following the touchdown, the aircraft traveled approximately 1,500 metres before colliding with a drainage ditch. The impact caused both main landing gears to be severed from the airframe, and the aircraft eventually came to a stop on its belly in a grassy field. There were no fatalities among the 42 occupants, all of whom evacuated the aircraft safely. The aircraft sustained damage that rendered it a total loss.
Findings
- The primary factor in the excursion was limited visibility caused by fog, which prevented the crew from maintaining proper alignment with the runway.