NARITA– On March 23, 2009, during its scheduled journey from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) in the People’s Republic of China to Narita International Airport (NRT) in Narita, Chiba Prefecture (near Tokyo), Japan, FedEx Express (FX) Flight 80, operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F bearing the registration N526FE, encountered adverse weather conditions.
At 6:48 am JST (21:48 UTC, March 22), while attempting to land on Runway 34L, the aircraft experienced instability during flare and touchdown. This resulted in an unsuccessful landing, causing structural damage to the landing gear and airframe.
The plane eventually came to rest inverted and engulfed in flames off the runway. Tragically, both the captain and first officer, the only occupants of the jet, lost their lives in the accident.
What Happened?
Following an approximately 1,800-mile overnight journey from Guangzhou, China, the flight crew initiated an early morning descent towards Narita Airport outside Tokyo.
Before the accident, the preceding aircraft had reported encountering “wind shear” below 600 meters (2,000 feet), and this information was promptly communicated to the FedEx aircrew.
Weather observations indicated surface winds blowing from 320° at 26 knots (30 miles per hour; 13 meters per second; 48 kilometers per hour), with gusts up to 40 knots (46 miles per hour; 21 meters per second; 74 kilometers per hour) at the time of the incident.
Upon landing firmly on runway 34L, the aircraft experienced three consecutive bounces, with its nose gear making initial contact in a phenomenon known as “porpoising,” resulting in a loss of both directional and altitude control.
Subsequently, the left wing impacted the ground as the landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to veer left, ignite, and ultimately invert as the airframe disintegrated, finally coming to a rest upside down on the grass adjacent to the runway.
Firefighters spent approximately two hours extinguishing the ensuing blaze, which destroyed the aircraft and its cargo completely.
Fatalities And Impact
The aircraft’s sole occupants were Captain Kevin Kyle Mosley, aged 54, from Hillsboro, Oregon, and First Officer Anthony Stephen Pino, aged 49, from San Antonio, Texas.
Following the incident, both pilots were transported to the Japanese Red Cross Narita Hospital, where they were pronounced deceased.
Captain Mosley, a former United States Marine Corps fighter pilot from 1977 to 1983, had been employed by FedEx Express since July 1, 1996. Over his career, he had amassed more than 12,800 flight hours, with 3,648 of those hours specifically on the MD-11 aircraft.
First Officer Pino, previously a C-5 Galaxy pilot in the United States Air Force from 1981 to 2004, joined FedEx Express in 2006. He had accumulated over 6,300 total flight hours, with 879 hours specifically on the MD-11. Fortunately, no injuries were reported among individuals on the ground.
Investigation
The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) deployed a team of six investigators to the airport
The first officer executed a delayed flare, allowing the sink rate to persist until the aircraft was almost on the runway, aiming to minimize float that could extend the landing distance or veer off the centerline due to crosswinds.
However, this resulted in a high sink rate at touchdown and significant nose-up inputs, causing the initial bounce. Subsequent nose-down input led to a touchdown on the nose gear, contrary to approved procedures for the MD-11 during a bounce.
Following the second bounce, the first officer’s substantial control inputs resulted in a hard touchdown on the main landing gear. The impact was forceful enough to exceed the design limit of the left wing, leading to its failure.
The JTSB report suggested that the fire might have been prevented if the landing gear fuse pin had failed as intended, but much of the force during touchdown was horizontal rather than vertical, keeping it intact. The report also highlighted the crew’s use of an autothrottle during landing despite gusty wind conditions.
The Japan Transport Safety Board issued its final report on April 26, 2013, proposing several safety recommendations. These included improving the controllability and maneuver characteristics of MD-11 aircraft by enhancing the LSAS functions and reducing the AGS deployment delay time. It also suggested installing visual displays and aural warning systems to aid pilots in recovery operations from large bounces and assess the need for a go-around.
The investigation into the pilots’ performance revealed signs of sleep deprivation and fatigue. The first officer, Anthony Pino, who was piloting the aircraft, typically served as a relief pilot and had limited experience in landing the MD-11, performing landings infrequently. This lack of experience and fatigue may have contributed to the accident.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News.