McDonnell Douglas MD-82

On final approach to Malakal Airport, the airplane was too low, causing both main landing gears to touch the ground about two metres short of runway 04 threshold. Upon impact, both landing gears sheared off and the airplane slid on its belly for few hundred metres before coming to rest in the middle of the runway. Both pilots escaped unharmed. According to locals, the airplane was en route from Juba to pick up returnees who had fled Sudan’s war from Malakal to Juba and had no passengers on board.

Following an uneventful flight from Santo Domingo-Las Américas Airport, the crew was cleared to land on runway 09 at Miami-Intl Airport. The first officer recalled that the airplane touched down smoothly on the right and then the left main landing gear and that the airplane was slightly to the right of the centerline, which he corrected after touching down. Shortly afterward, the flight crew felt a vibration on the left side of the airplane. The vibration increased, and the airplane veered to the left despite the crew’s efforts to maintain the airplane on the runway centerline. The airplane subsequently departed the paved runway surface and impacted the glideslope equipment building for runway 30, which was located to the left of runway 09, causing the nose landing gear and the right main landing gear to collapse. A post crash fire began on the right wing after the fuel tank on that wing was breached, after which the airplane came to a stop. Nevertheless, fire was quickly extinguished and all 140 occupants evacuated safely, among them four passengers were taken to Jackson Hospital.