Boeing 767 CN-RNT

Summary

On 20 April 2009 at about 19:24 local time, a Boeing 767 registered CN-RNT, operated by Royal Air Maroc, was involved in an accident near New York, New York, United States. 220 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 April 2009 at 19:24

Classification

Accident

Location

New York, New York, United States

Nearest airport

John F. Kennedy International (KJFK)

Coordinates

40.7491, -73.9995

Aircraft

Boeing 767

Registration

CN-RNT

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Royal Air Maroc

Operating rule

Part 129: Foreign

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Casablanca → New York

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DCA09FA045

Nobody was injured.

The first officer’s input of full nose down elevator at touchdown. Contributing to the accident was the gusty wind conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the initial approach, gusty wind conditions could be seen in the recorder airspeed data consistent with the weather conditions broadcast to the flight crew (16 knots gusting to 24 knots). As a result, the flight crew added an appropriate wind additive to the reference landing speed (Vref). The airplane touched down in the touchdown zone approximately 1,600 feet from the threshold with a recorded normal acceleration (Nz) consistent with a “firm” landing. As the main gear touched down, a full nose down column was applied that produced a very high nose-down pitch rate, which resulted in a hard nose gear touchdown. The recorded normal acceleration at nose gear touchdown was 1.8 g, however, the actual load applied at the nose gear was much higher because the accelerometers are located in the main gear wheel well. The peak nose gear load experienced at nose gear contact exceeded the design-limit load by as much as 46%. The recorded normal and pitch accelerations, calculated data, and estimated nose gear loads confirm that the aircraft experienced a bending moment that exceeded both the design requirements and the structural capability of the fuselage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.