A Boeing 727-281 Freighter aircraft was operating a cargo flight from Moncton-Greater Moncton International Airport (New Brunswick, Canada) to St. John's International Airport (New Foundland, Canada) with a crew of 3 on board the aircraft. As part of their flight preparation, they noted that the current weather at their destination included gusting winds, light drizzle and fog.
The right-hand main landing gear, note the failed inboard mainwheel tire (© TSB)
In cruise the crew obtained the latest weather for St. John's via the automatic terminal information service (ATIS);
Surface wind 210° Magnetic (M) at 14 gusting to 21 knots, visibility 2 statute miles in light rain and mist, overcast clouds at 500 feet above ground level, temperature 17°C, dew point 15°C, altimeter 29.91 inches of mercury, approach ILS runway 16, arrivals and departures runway 16.
After consulting their performance charts the crew selected runway 11 with an ILS approach. At 08.06 lt (local time) the aircraft was established on the ILS for Runway 11. Two minutes later the crew became visual with the runway through the rain and selected the window wipers on. At 08.09 the aircraft touched down, approximately 1850 feet past the threshold, the speed at touchdown ~160 knots. One second after the touchdown the spoilers were deployed manually and reverse thrust was selected 7 seconds after the touchdown for 9 seconds. With full wheel brakes applied the crew noted the aircraft was skidding. 5000 feet from the threshold the aircraft skidded to the left of the centerline. The crew determined they would not be able to stop on the runway and informed ATC they were going off the end of the runway. ATC immediately informed airport rescue and firefighting services.
The aircraft in its final position (© TSB) The aircraft remained left of the centerline for approximately 2500 feet then rapidly crossed over to the right about 400 feet before the end of the paved surface. The crew was unable to stop the aircraft which departed the paved surface with the nose yawed about 13° left at approximately 40 knots. The aircraft came to a stop in the grass and mud, with the nose about 60 feet left of the extended runway centreline on a heading of 098°magnetic, approximately 48 seconds after touching down on Runway 11. Maximum manual wheel braking was maintained throughout the entire landing roll. After completing the necessary checklists the crew evacuated the aircraft without injuries. The runway overrun was investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), in their report, available by clicking here. The following findings as to Causes and Contributing Factors;
The aircraft touched down about 1850 feet from the threshold, and at a higher than required airspeed, which reduced the available runway length to stop the aircraft.
Excessive tread wear and the wet runway caused the aircraft to hydroplane, which led to a loss of directional control and braking ability, resulting in the aircraft overrunning the runway.
The brakes were not released when the skid occurred, which reduced the effectiveness of the anti-skid system
Skidmarks caused by hydroplaning (© TSB)