What happened
During the approach to Porto, an aircraft was cleared to land on runway 35. At the time, the runway threshold had been moved forward by 760 metres due to ongoing construction activities. Although this change had been officially communicated via a NOTAM, the flight crew was unaware of the displacement during their pre-flight preparations at Madrid-Barajas Airport.
As the aircraft progressed on its final approach, air traffic control observed that the plane was flying at an insufficient altitude. The controller issued an instruction to overshoot the runway to avoid the construction zone; however, the crew failed to respond to this command and maintained their approach path. Consequently, the aircraft type undershot the actual displaced threshold and entered the construction area.
Upon entering the worksite, the aircraft struck multiple trenches. The impact was severe enough to tear the undercarriage from the airframe, causing the plane to slide several dozen metres along the runway surface before stopping. While the 37 occupants were successfully evacuated without injury, the aircraft sustained damage that rendered it a total loss.
Findings
- The crew lacked awareness of the displaced runway threshold due to a failure in receiving critical NOTAM information during flight preparation.
- The crew's failure to execute the controller's instruction to overshoot led directly to the aircraft entering the construction zone.