What happened
On March 25, 2018, an Embraer 190, registration LV-FPT, operated by Austral Líneas Aéreas, was performing a scheduled commercial flight from Córdoba to Buenos Aires. During the approach to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, the aircraft encountered challenging meteorological conditions, including crosswinds with gusts and mechanical turbulence at low altitudes.
As the aircraft descended below 1,000 feet, the flight crew managed continuous changes in attitude, speed, and thrust to compensate for the wind. During the landing phase, the aircraft experienced a hard landing followed by a bounce. The subsequent second contact with the runway resulted in significant damage to the right main landing gear. There were no injuries among the 94 passengers or the 5 crew members on board.
The investigation
The Argentine Transportation Safety Board (JST) examined the flight data, aircraft components, and operational procedures. The investigation focused on the aircraft's trajectory management below 1,000 feet, the impact of environmental factors on the landing, and the effectiveness of the airline's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Investigators also reviewed the regulatory framework for human factors training in Argentina and the airline's oversight of flight crew adherence to established procedures.
Findings
- Environmental conditions, specifically crosswinds and low-altitude turbulence, triggered the event.
- The crew's speed corrections led to an approach speed approximately 10 knots above the selected reference speed.
- The aircraft experienced significant ground effect, causing it to "float" during the flare.
- A high rate of descent during the first touchdown, combined with engine thrust that delayed spoiler deployment, caused the aircraft to bounce.
- High vertical and lateral acceleration loads on the right main landing gear caused the structural damage.
- Discrepancies were identified in the crew's adherence to the operator's SOPs.
- The airline lacked a program to monitor SOP compliance under unsupervised conditions.
- The airline's training manual did not include Threat and Error Management (TEM) curriculum.
Safety action
The JST issued recommendations to Aerolíneas Argentinas to implement a Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) program to better monitor operational performance and to update training manuals to include TEM instruction. Additionally, a recommendation was made to the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) to update national human factors training guidelines to reflect modern industry advancements.