What happened
On May 3, 2025, an Airbus A320-214, registration HK5407, was operating a scheduled flight from Rionegro to Santa Marta. During the descent, the crew identified significant weather activity along the planned route and the approach to Santa Marta. To avoid these formations and the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains, the crew requested a 100NM deviation to the left, entering the airspace between Barranquilla and Cartagena.
Upon reaching the Santa Marta area, the crew was notified by Air Traffic Control (ATC) that the active runway had changed to Runway 19. At this point, the Estimated Fuel On Board (EFOB) had dropped to 1.9. Despite the low fuel, the crew decided to proceed with the approach, noting that another aircraft had recently landed successfully at the destination.
As the crew attempted a visual approach (RVFP) to Runway 19 in Santa Marta, deteriorating weather conditions prevented them from maintaining visual contact with the terrain. The crew subsequently requested a diversion to Barranquilla (Aeropuerto Ernesto Cortissoz) as an alternate. While attempting an RNP approach to Runway 23 in Barranquilla, the crew reached the Decision Altitude (DA) without visual contact with the runway and executed a missed approach, climbing to 5,000 feet.
Due to the fuel situation, the crew declared a PAN PAN urgency message, and shortly thereafter, a MAYDAY distress signal, reporting that the aircraft had only 1,098kg of fuel remaining. The aircraft was cleared to proceed directly to Cartagena. The flight eventually performed an RNP approach to Runway 19 at Rafael Núñez International Airport, landing with 860kg of fuel remaining. There were no injuries to the 173 passengers or 6 crew members, and the aircraft sustained no damage.
The investigation
The GRIAA has conducted several preliminary tasks, including the collection and analysis of data from the operator, Air Traffic Services (ATS) records, meteorological data, and radar imagery. The investigation is ongoing, with pending tasks including a review of the aircraft's dispatch procedures, a full analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), and interviews with the flight crew.