TAP Portugal Flight 425
Encyclopedia
TAP Air Portugal Flight 425, tail number CS-TBR, was a Boeing 727
aircraft named Sacadura Cabral en route from Brussels
, Belgium
, to Madeira airport
(informally known as Funchal airport), Portugal
, with an intermediate scheduled stop in Lisbon
, Portugal, on November 19, 1977.
Shortly before 9:48pm on that Saturday evening, after 13 hours and 15 minutes of service time, the tired crew of the 727 was trying to land the airplane on the difficult Madeira airport runway, which at the time was 1600 meters (5,250 feet) long. After two unsuccessful attempts to land the aircraft, the Captain João Lontrão and Co-pilot Miguel Guimarães Leal decided to make one last try to land the plane, before they would have to make the decision to divert to the Gran Canaria Airport in the Canary Islands
.
While on final approach to runway 24 in heavy rain, strong winds and poor visibility, the aircraft touched down 2000 feet past the threshold, and started hydroplaning. With just about 3000 feet of runway left, the crew tried desperately to stop, applying maximum reverse thrust and brakes, but the aircraft slid off the runway with a ground speed of approximately 43 knots and plunged over a 200 feet steep bank hitting a nearby bridge and crashing on the beach; splitting in two pieces and bursting into flames.
Of the 164 people aboard (156 passengers and eight crew), 131 were killed (125 passengers and 6 crew), making it the deadliest airplane accident in Portugal to that point.
After the accident occurred, TAP stopped flying the Boeing 727-200 to Madeira, and started flying only the 727-100, which was six metres shorter and took 60 fewer passengers.
The crash prompted officials to explore ways of extending the short runway. Because of the height of the runway relative to the beach below, an extension was very difficult and too expensive to perform. Between 1983 and 1986, a 200-meter extension was built; fourteen years later, the runway was again extended. Following the 2000 extension, the runway measured 2781 meters (9,124 feet) long and was capable of handling wide body commercial jets like the Boeing 747
or the Airbus A340
.
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
aircraft named Sacadura Cabral en route from Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, to Madeira airport
Madeira Airport
-Incidents and accidents:*On 5 March 1973, an Aviaco Sud Caravelle 10R crashed into the sea during approach, losing the aircraft and three crew....
(informally known as Funchal airport), Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, with an intermediate scheduled stop in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal, on November 19, 1977.
Shortly before 9:48pm on that Saturday evening, after 13 hours and 15 minutes of service time, the tired crew of the 727 was trying to land the airplane on the difficult Madeira airport runway, which at the time was 1600 meters (5,250 feet) long. After two unsuccessful attempts to land the aircraft, the Captain João Lontrão and Co-pilot Miguel Guimarães Leal decided to make one last try to land the plane, before they would have to make the decision to divert to the Gran Canaria Airport in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
While on final approach to runway 24 in heavy rain, strong winds and poor visibility, the aircraft touched down 2000 feet past the threshold, and started hydroplaning. With just about 3000 feet of runway left, the crew tried desperately to stop, applying maximum reverse thrust and brakes, but the aircraft slid off the runway with a ground speed of approximately 43 knots and plunged over a 200 feet steep bank hitting a nearby bridge and crashing on the beach; splitting in two pieces and bursting into flames.
Of the 164 people aboard (156 passengers and eight crew), 131 were killed (125 passengers and 6 crew), making it the deadliest airplane accident in Portugal to that point.
After the accident occurred, TAP stopped flying the Boeing 727-200 to Madeira, and started flying only the 727-100, which was six metres shorter and took 60 fewer passengers.
The crash prompted officials to explore ways of extending the short runway. Because of the height of the runway relative to the beach below, an extension was very difficult and too expensive to perform. Between 1983 and 1986, a 200-meter extension was built; fourteen years later, the runway was again extended. Following the 2000 extension, the runway measured 2781 meters (9,124 feet) long and was capable of handling wide body commercial jets like the Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
or the Airbus A340
Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
.
See also
- Air India Express Flight 812Air India Express Flight 812Air India Express Flight 812 was a scheduled passenger service from Dubai to Mangalore which at around 01:00 UTC on 22 May 2010, overshot the runway on landing, fell over a cliff and caught fire, spreading wreckage across the surrounding hillside...
- Air France Flight 358Air France Flight 358Air France Flight 358, a flight from Paris, France, to Toronto, Canada, using an Airbus A340 airliner, departed Paris without incident at 11:53 UTC 2 August 2005, later touching down on runway 24L-06R at Toronto Pearson International Airport at 20:01 UTC...
- American Airlines Flight 1420American Airlines Flight 1420American Airlines Flight 1420 was a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Little Rock National Airport in USA. On June 1, 1999, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 overran the runway upon landing in Little Rock and crashed...
- American Airlines Flight 331American Airlines Flight 331American Airlines Flight 331 was a scheduled international flight from Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC to Kingston, Jamaica, via Miami, carrying 148 passengers and six crew, which overran the runway during a landing hampered by poor weather...
- List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners