What happened
On the night of September 16, 1998, a Boeing 737-524, registration N20643, was performing a scheduled international flight from Houston's George Bush International Airport to Guadalajara, Mexico. After an initial missed approach on the ILS approach to runway 28, the crew executed a second approach. While the approach itself was reported as routine, the aircraft drifted toward the left edge of the runway during the landing roll.
As the aircraft progressed down the runway, the left main landing gear moved off the paved surface approximately 2,700 feet from the threshold. Eventually, all three landing gears departed the 197-foot wide asphalt runway. The resulting excursion caused the nose landing gear to collapse, leading to significant structural damage to the engine cowlings, pylons, the forward baggage compartment, and the avionics bay. Both engines also sustained damage from foreign object debris. Despite the impact, there were no injuries among the 102 passengers, 4 flight attendants, or 2 pilots.
Findings
At the time of the incident, the area was experiencing heavy rain showers, downdrafts, and strong winds caused by a thunderstorm located northeast of the airport. The tower had issued winds of 360 degrees at 20 knots, with gusts reaching 40 knots. Notably, two preceding aircraft had reported experiencing windshear on their final approaches. The first officer noted that the auto-brake system did not exhibit expected anti-skid cycling or heavy braking sensations during the roll. Additionally, the runway environment was impacted by the weather, as 15 runway lights on the southern edge of the runway were sheared or knocked down during the event.