Incident Summary
On takeoff roll from runway 25 at Quito-Mariscal Sucre Airport, the flight crew received a fire alarm for the forward cargo compartment. The captain decided to abandon the takeoff and initiated emergency braking. The aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining runway distance, overran the end of the runway, collided with the ILS antenna, went down an embankment, and then struck a brick wall before coming to rest 300 meters past the runway threshold.
Injuries and Damage
All 66 occupants were evacuated from the aircraft. Eight passengers sustained injuries during the incident. The aircraft itself was damaged beyond repair.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the probable cause was the failure of the crew to follow the published procedures following a fire alarm, as stated in the Operations Manual, and the late application of the procedures once the decision to abort the takeoff was taken. Contributing factors included complacency on the part of the crew, who did not conduct a pre-takeoff briefing; a factor that influenced the lack of appropriate action to successfully handle the emergency; lack of crew resource management; and a low braking coefficient due to wet runway surface.