Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, Inc. (Caribair), Flight 340, a Douglas DC-9-31, N938PR, was involved in a landing accident at 1409 A.s.t., on August 12, 1969, at Harry S Truman Airport, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The aircraft, on its landing rollout, continued 323 feet beyond the far end of Runway 9, and came to rest in an automobile repair shop, after striking several vehicles. Near the end of the runway, the aircraft was observed to be fishtailing which was accompanied by loud sounds of engine reversing and associated popping noises. White tire streaks, typical of those observed in cases of known hydroplaning, were observed in the last 1,400 feet of runway, leading off the runway into the aircraft tire tracks in the wet, sodded area between the runway and the street. The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the loss of effective braking action caused by dynamic hydroplaning of the landing gear wheels on a wet/flooded runway. Contributing factors were a higher-than-normal touchdown speed and the location of the airport and its topography which permitted excess levels of water to accumulate on the runway. (Author)
Aircraft Accident Report: Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, Inc. Douglas Dc-9-31, N938PR Harry S. Truman Airport, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, August 12, 1969
1970
25 pages
Report
No indication
English