Description

On 25 March 2008 an Airbus A310 being operated by Sudan Airways on a passenger flight from Port Sudan to Khartoum overran the runway after a late night touchdown at destination in normal visibility off a non precision approach to runway 36. A fire became evident once the aircraft had stopped and this subsequently burned out of control and destroyed the aircraft. 30 of the 214 occupants died because of the fire and related smoke but no record of the extent of injuries to the survivors was available to the Investigation.

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the Sudan Air Accident Investigation Central Directorate (AAICD). The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) were recovered and downloaded. It was found that both pilots were experienced and that the Captain had been PF for the accident landing.

It was noted that the aircraft had been released to service the previous day with the left engine thrust reverser inoperative and locked out in accordance with the Minimum Equipment List (MEL). It was also discovered that no regular checking of tyre pressures was taking place because the maintenance personnel wrongly believed that the aircraft was fitted with an on-board “Tyre Pressure Information System” (TPIS) which would have meant that the flight crew could be responsible for routine monitoring. However, no evidence was found that this circumstance had had any effect on the difficulty experienced in stopping the aeroplane.