performance related incidents & accidents
with the Boeing 737
Insufficient performance
To let pilots realize that performance plays a big part in the daily operation, listed below is a summary of incidents and accidents where the performance of the aircraft was insufficient.
Most of these incidents resulted in runway excursions causing damage varying from minor structural to hull losses with fatalities.
Runway excursions
Runway excursions can be divided in veer-offs (aircraft departs the side of the runway) and overruns (aircraft unable to stop before the end of the runway) and is the most frequent accident cause worldwide (3rd most in EASA countries) and rank in 6th place in terms of fatal accidents.
Landing overruns or RTO (Rejected Take Off) overruns might be caused by incorrect performance analysis and/or weight entry errors, possible due to wrong calculations, or FMC (Flight Management Computer) or computerized performance tool entry errors.
Tail strikes
Tailstrikes are situations where the tail of the airplane touches (scrapes) the ground, either on takeoff or during landing. This might be caused by either over-rotation (pitch attitude too high) but can also be caused by trying to rotate or to land at a too low speed. In turn, this too low (rotation VR - or landing reference VREF - ) speed can, similar to runway excursion situations, be caused by incorrect performance analysis and/or weight entry errors, possible due to wrong calculations, or FMC (Flight Management Computer) or computerized performance tool entry errors.
Boeing 737
This summary only gives an overview of recent incidents and accidents where the Boeing 737 was involved and only those where the (near) runway excursion was not (solely) caused by technical failure. Besides these, realize that most of the performance related incidents (think about eg. FMC weight/speed data entry errors and wrong flap selections) do fortunately not turn into incidents or accidents and therefore will not reach the public.
This overview is updated regularly.
Recent performance related incidents and accidents
Date | Occurence | Location | Airline | Aircraft | Facts | Final Report | read more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
06/02/2020 | LANDING OVERRUN INTO VALLEY | Kozhikode (India) rwy 10 | B737-300 | Unstablized approach, landing beyond touchdown zone halfway runway, wet runway. | Yes | ||
21/10/2021 | LANDING OVERRUN | Jayapura (Indonesia) rwy 30 | B737-300 | Light rain, wet runway | No | ||
02/03/2021 | INCORRECT TAKEOFF PERFORMANCE DATA | Lisbon (Portugal) rwy 21 | B737-800 | Intersection takeoff with performance based on full runway length. | No | ||
04/02/2020 | LANDING OVERRUN AND BROKE UP | Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (Turkey) rwy 06 | B737-800 | Very late touchdown after hot and high approach on wet runway in strong tailwind. | No | ||
04/01/2020 | LANDING OVERRUN | Halifax (Canada) rwy 14 | B737-800 | Aircraft landed on runway covered with 100% wet snow with unknown braking action and came to a stop beyond the runway end. | No | ||
02/05/2019 | LANDING OVERRUN ENDING UP IN RIVER | Jacksonville (USA) rwy 10 | B737-800 | Landing with flaps 30, one thrust reverser inop (by MEL), rainstorm, low visibility, 15 kts tailwind on a wet and non-grooved runway, with displaced threshold (net barrier), leaving LDA of 7800ft/2370m. | No | ||
28/04/2019 | LANDING OVERRUN | Shirdi (India) rwy 09 | B737-800 | Runway length 2500m / 8200ft. | No | ||
15/02/2019 | LANDING OVERRUN | Pontianak (Indonesia) rwy 15 | B737-800 | Landing in heavy rain on wet runway. | No | ||
17/01/2019 | LANDING OVERRUN | Chicago O'Hare (USA) rwy 04R | B737-900 | Blowing snow | No | ||
16/01/2019 | LANDING OVERRUN | Omaha (USA) rwy 14R | B737-800 | Freezing drizzle | No | ||
02/01/2019 | LANDING OVERRUN | Entebbe (Uganda) rwy 17 | B737-800 | Landed at Max Landing Weight due to fuel tankering with 1 Thrust Reverser INOP by MEL. | No | ||
05/12/2018 | LANDING OVERRUN | Burbank (USA) rwy 08 | B737-700 | Heavy rain. Aircraft ended up in EMAS (Engineered Material Arresting System). | No | ||
27/11/2018 | LANDING OVERRUN | Manaus (Brazil) rwy 29 | B737-200 | Heavy rain, excess approach speed | No | ||
25/11/2018 | LANDING OVERRUN | Yogyakarta (Indonesia) rwy 09 | B737-800 | Wet runway | No | ||
16/09/2017 | LANDING OVERRUN | Aquaba (Jordan) rwy 19 | B737-300 | Late touchdown in tailwind with incorrect configuration after an unstabilized approach. | No | ||
01/09/2018 | LANDING OVERRUN | Sochi (Russia) rwy 06 | B737-800 | Wet, contaminated runway, changing winds, long flare, late reverse and insufficient braking due to runway friction less than 0.3, which does not allow a landing, but was actually less than reported to the crew. | No | ||
05/08/2016 | LANDING OVERRUN | Milan Bergamo (Italy) rwy 28 | B737-400 | Delayed touchdown / low light conditions / wet runway / possible fatigue | No | ||
01/08/2018 | LANDING OVERRUN | Pardubice (Chech Republic) rwy 27 | B737-800 | Wet runway, light tailwind | No | ||
28/01/2017 | LANDING OVERRUN | Leticia (Columbia) rwy 21 | B737-400 | Burst tyre due to inadequate maintenance procedures, combined with poor runway condition in light rain | No | ||
18/09/2014 | INSUFFICIENT TAKEOFF THRUST (2 incidents combined) | Groningen (Netherlands) rwy 05 / Lissabon (Portugal) rwy 21 | B737-800 | Erroneous takeoff performance calculations. | No | ||
03/03/2018 | LANDING OVERRUN | Guayaquil (Ecuador) rwy 21 | B737-400 | Light rain, wet runway | No | ||
23/02/2018 | LANDING OVERRUN | Green Bay (USA) rwy 06 (2347m / 7700ft) | B737-900 | Slippery runway | No | ||
17/01/2018 | TAILSTRIKE ON TAKEOFF | Auckland (New Zealand) rwy 05R (3230m / 10590ft) | B737-800 | Decrease in headwind during rotation. | No | ||
28/09/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON DEPARTURE | Dallas Ft.Worth Texas (USA) runway 35L | B737-800 | No | |||
27/09/2017 | TAKE OFF WITH WRONG (NOSE HEAVY) TRIMSETTING | Malta rwy 13 | B737-800 | Intersection takeoff, incorrect stabilizer trim setting based on wrong passenger seating figures. Actual trim was 6.5%MAC off. | No | ||
19/09/2017 | LANDING OVERRUN | Mumbai (India) rwy 27 | B737-800 | Rain, wet runway (2965m / 9730ft) | No | ||
04/09/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON LANDING | Wenzhou (China) rwy 03/21 (3200m / 10500ft) | B737-800 | No | |||
24/07/2017 | LANDING OVERRUN | Bucharest (Romania) rwy 26R (3500m / 11480ft) | B737-800 | Wet runway | No | ||
21/07/2017 | RUNWAY OVERRUN ON TAKEOFF | Belfast (Ireland) rwy 07 (TODA 3073m / 10080ft) | B737-800 | Incorrect OAT (probably the expected top-of-climb OAT) was entered in FMC resulting in a significantly lower than required takeoff thrust and aircraft hit the approach lights at liftoff. | No | ||
11/07/2017 | LANDING OVERRUN | Helsinki (Finland) rwy 04L | B737-800 | Heavy rain, wet runway (3060m / 10040ft), late brake application. | No | ||
31/05/2017 | LANDING OVERRUN | Manokwari (Indonesia) rwy 35 | B737-300 | Rain, wet runway (2000m / 6560ft) | No | ||
16/05/2017 | RUNWAY EXCURSION ON LANDING | Winnipeg (Canada) rwy 13 | B737-700 | Unstabilized approach, wet runway (2652m / 8700ft) | No | ||
08/04/2017 | LANDING VEER OFF WITH NOSE GEAR COLLAPSE | Sibu (Malaysia) rwy 13 | B737-800 | Reduced visual reference due to intensifying rain at night without runway centerline lights on a wet runway (2745m / 9005ft) and bad visible centerline markings / black hole effect. | No | ||
28/03/2017 | RUNWAY EXCURSION WITH GEAR COLLAPSE | Jauja (Peru) rwy 31 | B737-300 | Veered off, collapsed gear and caught fire. | No | ||
23/03/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON LANDING | Atlanta, GA (USA) rwy 26R | B737-900 | No | |||
17/02/2017 | REJECTED TAKEOFF RUNWAY EXCURSION | Riga (Russia) rwy 18 | B737-500 | Thrust assymetry (unaware by crew) below Vmcg, late initiation RTO, wet runway. | No | ||
13/02/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON GO-AROUND | Bariloche (Argentina) rwy 29 | B737-800 | Unstabilized approach, higher than idle thrust on touchdown without flare (+3.08G), go-around. | No | ||
07/02/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON DEPARTURE | Warsaw Modlin (Poland) rwy 08 | B737-800 | No | |||
01/02/2017 | LANDING VEER OFF | Yogyakarta (Indonesia) rwy 09 | B737-800 | Heavy rain, wet runway (2200m / 7210ft) | No | ||
26/01/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON DEPARTURE | Istanbul (Turkey) rwy 05 | B737-800 | No | |||
22/01/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON LANDING | Dhaka (Bangladesh) rwy 14 | B737-800 | Thrust not idle upon touchdown, bounce, 2nd touchdown +2.79G | No | ||
12/01/2017 | TAILSTRIKE ON DEPARTURE | Moscow Vnukovo (Russia) rwy 06 | B737-900 | No | |||
27/12/2016 | REJECTED TAKEOFF RUNWAY EXCURSION | Goa (India) rwy 26 | B737-800 | TO/GA was pressed without both engined stabilized at the prescribed 40% N1 (No2 engine 28% N1). | No | ||
07/12/2016 | LANDING OVERRUN | Murmansk (Russia) rwy 31 | B737-500 | Reported braking action by ATC insufficient / insuffiecient use of reverse thrust / improper landing distance assessment. | No | ||
06/12/2016 | TEMPORARY RUNWAY EXCURSION ON LANDING | Darwin (Australia) rwy 29 | B737-800 | Gusty crosswind, heavy rain, darkness, limited visual cues, touchdown 21m right of (unlighted) centerline | No | ||
27/10/2016 | LANDING OVERRUN | New York La Guardia (USA) rwy 22 | B737-700 | High flare / late idle thrust / late touchdown / late speedbrake / wet rwy (2134m / 7000ft). | No | ||
20/02/2016 | LANDING OVERRUN | Surabaya (Indonesia) rwy 10 | B737-900 | Prolong touchdown / late spoiler deployment / thrust levers not at idle / late brake application / heavy rain / wet runway (3000m / 9845ft). | No | ||
16/01/2016 | LANDING OVERRUN | Kiev (Russia) rwy 08 | B737-300 | Slippery runway (2160m / 7080ft), tailwind, shortcomings in crewtraining regarding landing distance calculations, Vref planned too high. | No | ||
07/01/2016 | LANDING OVERRUN | Cluj (Romania) rwy 25 | B737-400 | Extended flare (float) on a snowy runway (2040m/ 6700ft) / high approach speed / insufficient visual cues / inconsistent brake pressure. | No | ||
05/01/2015 | LANDING OVERRUN | Montreal (Canada) rwy 24L | B737-600 | Runway conditions worse than expected (standing water i.s.o. wet) / application of reverse too late / retracting the speedbrake too early. | No | ||
01/01/2015 | LANDING OVERRUN | Makassar (Indonesia) rwy 13 | B737-800 | Floating (possibly due to windshift) resulted in too late touchdown on the wet runway in heavy rain. | No |