The TAM Airlines Airbus A320 had skidded off the wet runway in Congonhas in the city of San Paulo into a fuel/cargo storage facility aswell as a petrol station. The fuel in the petrol station then ignited and caused a huge explosion. Our source, Joao Pedro in Brazil reported that "The nation is in a total shock. The accident occoured at a most delicate period, for Brazil has been experiencing a state of chaos in its aerial transport which was triggered by another large accident with a death toll of over 150 in September 2006. Since then most airports had been operating with massive delays, as air traffic controllers went on strike and similar problems followed. The airport only handles domestic flights yet is by far the country's busiest It was originally built in the 1950s and was operating at its maximum capacity for the past years, which led infraero (company in charge of Brazil's airports) to submit it to massive repairs. The runway was under repairs and was put back in operation before anti-slipping equipment was installed. Yesterday the same airport experienced a close call, which shows the irresponsibility of local authorities by having allowed the runway to remain in operation, which resulted in today's tragedy." It should also be noted that gov't authorities had even earlier this week closed the runway due to the heavy rainfall only to reopen it. Currently the death toll is well above 150, reaching near 176+. Our thoughts and prayers with the families of those effected by this horrendous disaster. Reporting for AirlineScoop, Arin Ghosh
Our staff reporter in Brazil, Joao Pedro who lives in the vicinity of the airport is our source. If you would like a more reputable source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6903837.stm
The Airbus A320-200 is one of the most modern aircraft in the world, with over 1,000,000 flight hours and tens, if not hundreds of thousands of take off's and landings, it has transported millions of passengers safely. When a runway is illy maintained and airport authorities will not close the airport to conduct adequate repairs and proper maintenance, then the runway's durability comes into the factor. Any aircraft could have pretty much skidded off this runway just as easily, this is not a fault of the Airbus aircraft thus, this is more the fault of the Brazilian Airport Authorities. Just yesterday, as Joao Pedro reported, a similar incident happened with a smaller plane in which it also skidded but without fatalities.
yea, true and A320 is a very heavy air craft and i think it was raining while it landed and the skidded and crashed into a building...
"The TAM Airlines Airbus A320 had skidded off the wet runway in Congonhas" From my initial post, 1st line. @ Glock, absolutely correct! It is quite a heavy aircraft. Very sad incident, my thoughts are with the families effected.