RED Air Flight 203
 The incident aircraft on the day of the accident | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 June 2022 |
| Summary | Runway excursion, under investigation |
| Site | Miami International Airport, United States |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas MD-82 |
| Operator | RED Air |
| IATA flight No. | L5203 |
| ICAO flight No. | REA203 |
| Call sign | RED DOMINICANA 203 |
| Registration | HI1064 |
| Flight origin | Las Américas International Airport, Dominican Republic |
| Destination | Miami International Airport, United States |
| Occupants | 140 |
| Passengers | 130 |
| Crew | 10 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 4 |
| Survivors | 140 |
RED Air Flight 203 (L5203/REA203) was a scheduled international commercial passenger flight from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Miami International Airport by RED Air.[1] On 21 June 2022, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft operating the service suffered a left landing gear collapse and runway excursion, causing the left wing of the aircraft to impact an antenna structure, followed by a subsequent fire on the right side of the airplane.[2] The incident caused three people to be hospitalized with minor injuries.[3][4]
Aircraft[edit]
The aircraft involved in the accident was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 with the registration of HI1064 and serial number 53027. The aircraft was first delivered to American Airlines in December 1990, where it operated until August 2014. The aircraft was then stored until August 2017, when it was acquired by LASER Airlines. The aircraft had previously been painted in the Orange Air livery, but it never entered service with the airline. The aircraft was then transferred to RED Air, a subsidiary of LASER Airlines, in February 2021.[5]
Passengers and crew[edit]
There were 140 occupants on board the accident flight: 130 passengers and 10 crew members. Airport officials reported that all of them survived. The local fire rescue authorities reported that three people suffered minor injuries and were sent to the hospital.[6][7]
Incident[edit]
According to Flightradar24, RED Air Flight 203 departed from Las Américas International Airport in the Dominican Republic at 3:36 PM (19:36 UTC) and landed at Miami International Airport on runway 09 at 5:38 PM (21:38 UTC) after a flight time of two hours and three minutes on 21 June 2022.[8][9] During landing, the aircraft's left main landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft's left wing to scratch the runway. Just before the aircraft came to a full stop, the right landing gear and nose landing gear also collapsed, resulting in damage to the aircraft's nose and a fire on the right wing. Firefighters found fuel leaking from the aircraft when they arrived on scene. The aircraft had also reportedly collided with a communication tower and a small building before catching fire. Passengers began evacuating the plane about 5 seconds after the aircraft stopped and fled with their personal belongings.[6][7] This became RED Air's first aircraft to be involved in a hull loss accident.[10][11]
Footage of the incident[edit]
The scene was captured by Miami International Airport's CCTV camera[7] and the ground crew employee's cellphone.[12] Two videos were subsequently released showing scenes onboard the aircraft during the landing and when the passengers were evacuating the aircraft. The footage was recorded by one of the passengers onboard. The first video shows the aircraft's harsh landing and the unusual vibrations before the left landing gear collapsed. The collapse of the left landing gear was heard at the end of the first video. The second video shows the passenger who recorded the footage exiting the aircraft.[13][14] Another smartphone video was released, showing the moment inside the plane from touch down on the runway until the stop of the aircraft. This video shows not just what the other onboard video shows, but also the passengers’ reactions during the incident.[15]
Investigation[edit]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) arrived on scene the following day and began an investigation.[16] A preliminary report issued by the NTSB cited four minor injuries to passengers,[16] rather than the three originally reported by news outlets.[17] The preliminary report stated that both flight recorders (data and voice) were recovered and their data was successfully downloaded by the NTSB.[16] The NTSB also noted that the "left and right main landing gear were removed from the aircraft for further evaluation."[16] A cause of the accident has not yet been reported by the NTSB.
Preliminary report[edit]
The National Transportation Safety Board released their preliminary report into the accident on July 15, 2022 stated that, the flight was the second of the day from the actual flight crew. The captain was the pilot monitoring while the first officer was the pilot flying. The flight was departed from Las Américas International Airport, Santo Domingo at 15:35 after a delay of 36 minutes. The airplane was cleared to landing at Miami International Airport, Miami runway 09 with an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach with the pilot reporting that the approach was normal. The first officier reported that the landing was smooth, and they first touched down on the right main gear followed by the left main gear slightly right of centerline.The pilots had the sensation of an increase in vibration on the left side of the aircraft shortly after the left main gear touched down. During the landing roll out the left main gear collapsed, the airplane traveled to the left where it eventually departed the paved surface and impacted the runway 30 glide slope equipment shelter. During departure from the paved surface and impact with the steel and concrete shelter, the airplane’s right main landing gear and nosewheel collapsed, and the fuel tanks were breached. Shortly after the airplane came to a stop, a postcrash fire began on the right wing. All 140 occupants of the airplane evacuated safely and four of them sustained minor injuries. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR) is successfully extinguished the post-crash fire and all occupants of the plane were transferred to the airport's terminal with buses.[18]
An investigation docket of the accident was opened by NTSB on July 31, 2023.[18]
Gallery[edit]
Airframe Info[edit]
| Registration | Image | Airlines |
|---|---|---|
| N16545 | .jpg)
|
American Airlines |
| N16545 | Aerothrust Holdings | |
| N16545 |
|
Orange Air |
| YV3367 |
|
LASER Airlines |
| HI1064 | 
|
RED Air |
See also[edit]
- DHL Aero Expreso Flight 7216
- Emirates Flight 521
- Tibet Airlines Flight 9833
- FedEx Express Flight 910
References[edit]
- ^ "Fiery crash landing at Miami airport captured on video". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "DCA22FA132.aspx". www.ntsb.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
- ^ Sutton, Joe; Lynch, Jamiel; Wallace, Gregory (21 June 2022). "3 hospitalized after commercial plane landing gear collapsed at Miami International Airport". CNN. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "Plane catches fire after crash-landing at Miami airport; at least 3 hospitalized". New York Post. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "HI1064 RED AIR MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-82". planespotters.net. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ a b Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas MD-82 HI1064 Miami International Airport, FL (MIA)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ a b c Passenger jet crash lands in Miami after catching fire | 7NEWS (Video), Seven Network, June 22, 2022
- ^ Flightradar24. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Flightradar24. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Ranter, Harro. "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > Dominican Republic > Red Air". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "3 Hospitalized After Plane Catches Fire Landing at Miami International Airport". NBC 6 South Florida. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Cellphone video captures jetliner skidding across MIA tarmac, retrieved 2022-06-22
- ^ Passenger Films TERRIFYING Evacuation From Burning Jet, retrieved 2022-06-22
- ^ Schlappig, Ben (2022-06-22). "RED Air MD-82 Catches Fire At Miami Airport After Landing". One Mile at a Time. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Passenger's View of RedAir Flight's Rough Landing in Miami || ViralHog, retrieved 2022-06-25
- ^ a b c d "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Preliminary Report: DCA22FA132" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved November 13, 2022 – via wikimedia.org.
- ^ "Three injured as plane catches fire after landing at Miami airport". calgaryherald.com. AP. June 21, 2022.
- ^ a b "Accident: Red Air MD82 at Miami on Jun 21st 2022, runway excursion causes gear collapse on landing". avherald.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.