History of the Flight
The crew was conducting a repositioning flight from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to Le Bourget airport. They were cleared for a LOC A approach to runway 25, which is offset by 26° relative to the runway centerline. During the turn to align with the runway centerline, the aircraft overshot it. The pilot flying (PF) returned the aircraft to the centerline at a low height before deciding to abort the approach and increase engine thrust. The right main landing gear touched the runway before the aircraft climbed away. The crew subsequently landed on runway 07. Post-flight inspection revealed damage to the right wing and right horizontal tail. Rub marks were also found on the runway.
Flight Chronology
At 10:31, the aircraft was on approach at 3,000 ft QNH, speed 180 kt, aligned on the localizer course with autopilot and VNAV PATH and LOC modes engaged. At 10:33, landing gear was extended and flap selected to 30°. At 10:34, descent began; airspeed stabilized near 143 kt. Tower reported ceiling about 600 ft, visibility 4,400 m, and calm wind.
The autopilot was disengaged just before reaching the MDA of 800 ft (614 ft AAL). At around 300 ft AAL, vertical speed was -900 ft/min and thrust levers were retarded from 49° to 34°. At 270 ft AAL, pitch was 0.4° and then decreased. At 10:37:22, the aircraft was at 200 ft RA, heading 275, 1,100 m from threshold. The PF initiated a left turn with nose-up input; pitch reached a minimum of -1.8°.
GPWS Warnings and Go-Around
Two seconds later, the first GPWS warning "SINK RATE, SINK RATE" triggered at about 150 ft RA, descent rate around -1,200 ft/min, N1s at 38% and decreasing. The PF increased nose-up input and thrust levers advanced. At 10:37:27, the aircraft overshot the centerline with a left bank of 19° at about 100 ft RA; speed was 137 kt. For a few seconds, the aircraft flew offset about 50 m right of centerline at about 100 ft RA with pitch between 5° and 7°. The PF then turned left and the aircraft descended again.
At 10:37:38, the aircraft crossed the runway 25 threshold at 50 ft RA with a right roll of 4°, vertical speed -1,000 ft/min, pitch stable at 2.6°. One second later, a second GPWS "SINK RATE" warning triggered. Nose-up input increased and thrust levers moved from about 36° to 70°, but the TO/GA switch was not activated. At 10:37:41, the right main landing gear compressed (max vertical acceleration 1.96 g), pitch 10°, right roll 16°. At 10:37:43, the aircraft became airborne; speed reached a minimum of 117 kt. Thrust levers advanced to 82°, autothrottle in Thrust Reference mode, autopilot in VNAV Speed mode. At 10:37:50, the aircraft passed 100 ft RA at 133 kt; flap control set to 20°.
Post-Flight Inspections
After landing on runway 07 at 11:05, the aircraft remained powered, and cockpit voice recordings were not preserved. Inspection revealed rubbing marks on the right wing tip, leading edge, and right horizontal tail tip. A flap screw jack fairing on the right wing had rubbing marks and a broken attachment. Landing gear inspections found no damage. Runway inspection found rub marks starting 161 m after the displaced threshold, extending about 28 m, between 19 m and 22.5 m right of centerline. The exact landing gear contact zone could not be identified due to numerous rubber marks.
Additional Information
The Boeing 777-200ER (N777AS) is a category C aircraft (VAT between 121 and 140 kt), close to the upper limit of its landing category. The aircraft has a wingspan of 60.93 m and horizontal tail span of 21.53 m. Operator Mid East Jet, based in Jeddah but US-registered since 2012, operated the aircraft under FAR Part 125 rules and did not have a safety management system. The aircraft was used exclusively by a sole beneficiary. The flight crew consisted of three pilots (all captains) and a flight engineer. The pilots were dismissed from the company days after the event.