JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The final report has been released regarding the investigation into a Boeing 737 that took off from Cuba and attempted to land at Naval Air Station Jacksonville before settling in a shallow part of the St. Johns River in 2019.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Miami Air Flight 293 flight crew did not follow proper procedures, which led to the aircraft hydroplaning into the water.
The jetliner overran a rain-soaked runway due to an “extreme loss of braking friction,” the NTSB said in a report released Wednesday.
The crew was attempting to land in a heavy rainstorm, May 3, 2019.
Although none of the 143 passengers and crew onboard were seriously injured, several animals carried in the cargo compartment died in the accident.
The accident report details how the flight crew did not follow procedures, including continuing a destabilized approach, landing the airplane at an excessive approach speed and delaying deployment of the speedbrakes.
However, investigators determined that even if none of those errors occurred, the airplane still would not have stopped on the ungrooved runway because the rainfall rate and runway characteristics contributed to water depths that caused the aircraft to hydroplane.
The investigation also found Miami Air International failed to provide its flight crews with adequate guidance for evaluating braking conditions for landing on wet or contaminated runways.
Miami Air International ceased operations May 8, 2020.
The NTSB’s 32-page accident report, Miami Air Boeing 737; Jacksonville, Florida; May 3, 2019, is available online at https://go.usa.gov/xFNPb.
