ADelta Air Lines Airbus A330-323 touched down in the grass, 11m before the runway threshold, while landing on Amsterdam/ Schiphol’s shortest runway, an investigation by the Dutch Safety Board has found.
N802NW (c/n 533), which was arriving from Detroit on January 12, 2023, descended below the final approach path while conducting an ILS to runway 22, which measures 6,627ft in length.
None of the 220 passengers or 13 crew were injured and the aircraft subsequently taxied to the gate uneventfully. The jet sustained only minor damage and the rear of the aircraft was marked with traces of mud.
The flight
While planning for the arrival, requests were made by the pilots – comprising a captain and two first officers – for landing performance data based on the latest weather information available. Runway 18R and 22 were calculated based on the reported wind of 200° at 26kts, gusting 36kts.
The figures indicated that for runway 18R, a landing distance of 5,900ft using autobrake setting medium was required and that the latest touchdown point (LTP) was the standard 3,000ft from the runway threshold. The crosswind component for this runway was 10kt. For runway 22, the figures also indicated that the required landin…
