DHL de Guatemala Flight 7216

9°59′42.1074″N 84°12′9.36″W / 9.995029833°N 84.2026000°W / 9.995029833; -84.2026000 (approx.)^[1]AircraftAircraft typeBoeing 757-27A (PCF)Aircraft nameCiudad de DavidOperatorDHL de Guatemala for DHL Aero ExpresoIATA flight No.L37216ICAO flight No.JOS7216RegistrationHP-2010DAEFlight originJuan Santamaría International Airport, San José, Costa RicaDestinationLa Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City, GuatemalaOccupants2Passengers0Crew2Fatalities0Injuries0Survivors2

DHL de Guatemala Flight 7216 was an international cargo flight between Costa Rica's Juan Santamaría International Airport (IATA: SJO, ICAO: MROC) and Guatemala City's La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT). On 7 April 2022 (2022-04-07), the Boeing 757 operating the flight suffered a hydraulic failure, and crashed on landing at the Costa Rican airport. Neither of the two pilots were injured.^[1]

Accident

The flight took off at 9:34 am local time (UTC−6:00) from Juan Santamaría International Airport to La Aurora International Airport to deliver cargo. However, while flying over the Costa Rican town of Mueller San Carlos (or the Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco, it is unclear), the aircraft declared an emergency due to hydraulic problems, for which it made the decision to return to the air terminal, after holding a pattern to burn fuel, and touched down at 10:25 am (local time).

According to videos recorded from the airport, the aircraft rolled on the runway after touch-down. It then veered over 90 degrees to the right on taxiway Kilo, crashing into a ditch in front of the Costa Rica airport fire station and breaking apart. Neither pilot was physically injured, but one pilot underwent medical checks as a precaution.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft involved was a 22-year-old Boeing 757-27AF registered HP-2010DAE, with serial number 29610 and line number 904, delivered to DHL Aero Expreso in November 2010. The aircraft was first delivered to Far Eastern Air Transport in December 1999 as a passenger aircraft. The aircraft was leased to EVA Air from May 2002 to January 2004 before returning to Far Eastern Air Transport. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and later converted into a freighter aircraft in October 2010.^[2]

The captain, age 58, had logged 16,381 flight hours, including 6,233 hours on the Boeing 757. The first officer, age 43, had 10,545 flight hours with 2,337 of them on the Boeing 757.^[3]

Investigation

The Costa Rican CETAC opened an investigation on the accident where they found that during the flight the pilots had received two indications, one of low quantity in the left hydraulic system and another of low pressure also in the left hydraulic system, both of which occurred in sequence. The crew was good at following the right procedures in cases of low hydraulic pressure and showing good Crew Resources Management.

The aircraft touched the runway normally and began to roll out normally before reaching taxiway D, where the loss of control occurred with strong braking on the main landing gear, the aircraft veered to the right, exiting the runway south of Taxiway K, crashing over uneven terrain causing the undercarriage to collapse and the fracture of the fuselage, among other damage. No damage was found to the plane before impact so this means it was impact damage, both engine were running.

Some findings were not a factor in the accident which are pilot fatigue in fact according to the alcohol and drug tests no traces of substances were found in the pilots bodies, also the pilots were licensed and experienced, there are no Air traffic control errors that are contributed in any way to the runway excursion because ATC assisted the crew appropriately, nor was the airport a contributing factor in the runway excursion or hydraulic failure, but, due to the layout of the airport, any accident in the area of taxiway K could prevent the intervention of emergency vehicles.

The hydraulic failure of the left landing gear was caused by various types of cable breaks which can be caused by material delamination, fatigue, ductile separation, or even cracks and gaps in the individual cables of the cross section of the left landing gear down-lock actuator retraction hose due to material fatigue and stress.

On 22 September 2023 the Costa Rican CETAC released its final report which identified the following causes:

• The fatigue and stress of the individual cables of the cross section of the hydraulic retraction hose of the left landing gear downward locking actuator.
• Unintentional synchronized movement of right hand reverse thrust lever and left engine control thrust lever by the crew as a reaction to muscle memory.^[4]

Aftermath

The aircraft was subsequently written off as a result of the crash, making it the 12th hull loss of the Boeing 757.^[5] In December, the remains of the fuselage were preserved by the airport as a practice aid for fire fighters.^[2]

References