American Eagle Flight 5401
Encyclopedia
American Eagle Flight 5401 was a flight between Eugenio María de Hostos Airport
in Mayagüez
, Puerto Rico
(an insular area
of the United States
) and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
in San Juan
.
On the afternoon of May 9, 2004, Executive Airlines
(doing business as American Eagle) Flight 5401, an Avions de Transport Regional 72-212, ATR-72 airplane (registered as N438AT) took off from Mayagüez and completed a normal flight to San Juan.
Upon landing, the aircraft skipped once, bounced hard twice, and then crashed at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The airplane came to a complete stop on a grassy area about 217 feet left of the runway 8 centerline and about 4,317 feet beyond the runway threshold. The captain was seriously injured; the first officer, 2 flight attendants, and 16 of the 22 passengers received minor injuries; and the remaining 6 passengers received no injuries. The captain was the most seriously injured onboard.
As it turned out, a team of city rescuers was practicing on the beach located one block away from the airport, and they ran to the scene as soon as the airplane crashed. The airport's fire-and-rescue team also helped in the operation.
Most of the injured were taken either to Carolina
area hospitals, or to Centro Médico, in Río Piedras
.
The National Transportation Safety Board
determined that the cause of the accident was the captain's failure to recover from the bounced landing and his subsequent failure to execute a go-around
.
Flight 5401 no longer operates as an American Eagle flight but instead is now used as a codeshare flight operated by Air Nostrum for Iberia between Madrid, Spain and Valencia, Spain.
Eugenio María de Hostos Airport
Eugenio María de Hostos Airport is a small public airport located four miles north of the central business district of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The airport, named after the celebrated Mayagüez native Eugenio Maria de Hostos, covers and has one runway...
in Mayagüez
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
(an insular area
Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles southeast of San Juan. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to FAA reports . It is owned and managed by the Puerto Rico Ports...
in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
.
On the afternoon of May 9, 2004, Executive Airlines
Executive Airlines
Executive Airlines, Inc. is an airline headquartered in Carolina, Puerto Rico.Executive Airlines operates an extensive inter-island network in the Caribbean and to the Bahamas and the USA in American Eagle colors. Its main base is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, San Juan. In addition,...
(doing business as American Eagle) Flight 5401, an Avions de Transport Regional 72-212, ATR-72 airplane (registered as N438AT) took off from Mayagüez and completed a normal flight to San Juan.
Upon landing, the aircraft skipped once, bounced hard twice, and then crashed at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The airplane came to a complete stop on a grassy area about 217 feet left of the runway 8 centerline and about 4,317 feet beyond the runway threshold. The captain was seriously injured; the first officer, 2 flight attendants, and 16 of the 22 passengers received minor injuries; and the remaining 6 passengers received no injuries. The captain was the most seriously injured onboard.
As it turned out, a team of city rescuers was practicing on the beach located one block away from the airport, and they ran to the scene as soon as the airplane crashed. The airport's fire-and-rescue team also helped in the operation.
Most of the injured were taken either to Carolina
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...
area hospitals, or to Centro Médico, in Río Piedras
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Río Piedras is a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1714, it has been the home of the University of Puerto Rico's main campus since 1903, earning the town the popular name of Ciudad Universitaria...
.
The National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
determined that the cause of the accident was the captain's failure to recover from the bounced landing and his subsequent failure to execute a go-around
Go-around
A go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach.- Origin of the term :The term arises from the traditional use of traffic patterns at airfields. A landing aircraft will first join the circuit pattern and prepare for landing in an orderly fashion...
.
Flight 5401 no longer operates as an American Eagle flight but instead is now used as a codeshare flight operated by Air Nostrum for Iberia between Madrid, Spain and Valencia, Spain.
External links
- NTSB brief short factual summary on flight 5401, includes crash photographs
- NTSB Accident Investigation Animation of EGF5401
- NTSB accident report the full 118-page NTSB document on the crash