Incident Overview
On May 5, 2017, Jordan Aviation Flight JAV 7843, a Boeing 737-400, was conducting a flight from Bamako to Tombouctou, Mali. The aircraft landed on Runway 07 at Tombouctou Airport but subsequently experienced a runway excursion. No injuries were reported among the 101 occupants. The aircraft's left engine (Engine 1) sustained fan blade damage from gravel ingestion during the excursion.
Approach and Landing
According to data from the flight data recorder (FDR), the approach was unstable. The aircraft exhibited excessive vertical speed below 500 feet above ground level and an arrival speed 15 knots higher than the target threshold speed. The aircraft touched down approximately 350 meters beyond the designated touchdown zone on Runway 07. At the time of landing, a significant tailwind component of 16 knots was present.
Runway Excursion
Upon touchdown, the left engine's thrust reverser deployed with a three-second delay relative to the right engine's thrust reverser, causing an initial drift to the right. The pilot flying applied asymmetric manual braking to correct the aircraft's alignment with the runway centerline. This asymmetric braking reduced overall braking efficiency. Despite subsequent application of maximum reverse thrust and full manual braking, the aircraft failed to decelerate sufficiently within the remaining runway length. The aircraft veered off the paved surface to the right, skidded across soft terrain, and came to a halt just before the taxiway intersection.
Aftermath
The aircraft came to a stop on soft terrain adjacent to the runway. Post-incident inspection revealed that Engine 1 had ingested gravel, resulting in fan blade damage. No other damage was reported. The aircraft was a Boeing 737-400 operated by Jordan Aviation. No injuries were reported among the occupants.