airBaltic A220 Runway Excursion at Riga (YL-AAP)

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On March 8, 2023, an airBaltic Airbus A220-300, registered as YL-AAP, was operating scheduled flight BT-694 from Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport to Riga International Airport (RIX). The aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1521G-3 engines, was on its second flight of the day. The cockpit was occupied by the pilot-in-command, a first officer, and a third pilot serving as an observer, while the cabin crew consisted of three members attending to 89 passengers. The Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Bureau of the Republic of Latvia (TAIIB) was notified of the occurrence at 23:24 local time and initiated the investigation as the state of occurrence, registry, and operator, with the Canadian Transportation Safety Board acting as an accredited representative and Airbus as a technical advisor. ## Approach and Landing Sequence The flight crew was cleared for an ILS approach to runway 18 at 21:04:04 UTC. Prior to landing, the crew received ATIS information indicating a runway condition code of 3, with 5 mm of dry snow covering 100 percent of the runway's first, second, and third parts, along with drifting snow and poor conditions on all taxiways. The crew calculated a landing performance based on an aircraft weight of 50,400 kg, a flap 2/4 configuration, a Vref + 5 kt approach speed of 135 kt, and medium autobrake. At 21:15:05 UTC, the tower issued the landing clearance with wind reported at 250 degrees at 12 knots. The aircraft made initial touchdown on the right main landing gear at 21:17:37 UTC at a ground speed of 124 knots, followed by the left main gear at 21:17:39 UTC. The nose gear compressed at 21:17:40 UTC as the ground speed decreased to 121 knots. Thrust reversers were activated at 21:17:43 UTC, reducing the ground speed to 110 knots. ## Runway Excursion and Aftermath During the ground roll, the aircraft's right main landing gear wheels began skidding at 21:17:53 UTC, causing the aircraft to yaw left at a rate of approximately -1.9 degrees per second while the ground speed was 63 knots. The pilot reduced right rudder pedal input to correct the yaw. The aircraft deviated to the right of the runway centerline and came to a complete stop with the nose landing gear wheels approximately 11 meters from the paved runway surface and 1,560 meters from the runway 18 threshold. Both main landing gears remained on the paved surface. The passengers and crew disembarked safely, and no injuries were reported. The investigation focused on the prevention of future accidents and incidents, with the report not intended to apportion blame or liability.