What happened
On 21 December 2015, an Embraer 195, registration PK-KDC, was performing a scheduled passenger flight operated by Kalstar Aviation. After a delayed departure from Bali, the aircraft stopped at Ende before proceeding to Kupang. During the flight from Ende to Kupang, the crew was aware of reduced visibility at the destination, which was reported at 1 km, below the required 3.9 km approach minima.
As the aircraft approached El Tari International Airport, the crew requested a direct route to the approach point to avoid cloud formations. While the runway was eventually reported to have 4 km visibility, the flight crew realized during the descent that the aircraft was too high on the glide path, as indicated by the PAPI lights. To correct this, the crew utilized a non-standard configuration by extending the landing gear before the flaps to increase drag.
During the final stages of the approach, the aircraft triggered a high-speed warning, with the speed reaching approximately 2/205 knots. Despite the high speed, the crew decided to continue the landing, believing the 2,500-meter runway was long enough to stop the aircraft. Upon touchdown near the middle of the runway, the pilot applied thrust reversers, but the aircraft continued to travel toward the end of the pavement. In an attempt to avoid the approach lights at the runway end, the pilot steered the aircraft to the right. The aircraft eventually came to a stop approximately 200 meters from the end of runway 07.
There were 0 fatalities and no reported injuries among the 125 passengers and 5 crew members on board, though the aircraft experienced a runway excursion.
Findings
- The crew performed a non-standard configuration sequence by extending the landing gear prior to the flaps to manage a high approach.
- The aircraft was operating at an excessive speed of approximately 205 knots during the final approach.
- The pilot's decision to steer the aircraft to the right during the overrun was an attempt to avoid hitting the approach lighting system.