Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Jamaica, New York 11401
Friday, May 30, 2003 4:31 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The cargo airplane was on approach to land at night, on runway 4R; an 8,400-foot-long, asphalt runway. The flight crew received the current automated terminal information service weather, which included winds from 240 degrees at 4 knots. The captain was the flying pilot. He stated that he utilized the autopilot to 500 feet, before clicking it off, and stayed on the glide slope. The airplane's landing weight was about 470,000 pounds, and it was configured for a normal approach, which included autobrakes set to minimum and 35 degrees of flaps. The captain reported that the airplane touched down between 1,500 and 1,800 feet beyond the approach end of the runway, at an airspeed of about 158 knots. The captain applied reverse thrust and everything seemed normal until he observed the alternating red and white runway lights, which seemed to be coming up fast. The captain stated that with about 3,000 feet of runway remaining, at a speed of 110 knots, he began to apply manual braking. The first officer stated he could feel the brakes grab, and the airplane's nose pitched down. The airplane departed the end of the runway and entered an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS). The airplane's nose gear came to rest approximately 238 feet beyond the end of the runway, 115 feet into the EMAS. Both flight crew members reported normal cockpit indications before, during, and after the incident. Post incident examination of the airplane, which included a brake inspection and an operational check of the autobrake system, did not reveal any faults or abnormalities. A recorded radar and performance study indicated that the airplane crossed the runway threshold at an altitude of about 60 to 120 feet above the ground. The main landing gear touched down approximately 2,800 to 3,000 feet from the beginning of runway 4R, and the nose gear touched down at about 4,300 feet. The automatic braking system initiated approximately three seconds after nose wheel touchdown. The pilot initiated manual braking with about 1,400 feet of runway remaining. According to the operator's performance data for the airplane, the maximum landing weight allowed to utilized runway 4R for the incident landing configuration was 491,500 pounds in a zero wind condition, and 452,800 pounds, with a 5 knot tailwind.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The Captain's misjudgment of speed/distance which resulted in his failure to obtain the proper touch point resulting in an overrun. Factors in this accident were the tail wind, and night light conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 5/30/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 431 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Jamaica |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 11401 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403844N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0734516W |
| Event Location Airport | John F. Kennedy International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | JFK |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 13 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 451 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | JFK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 13 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 24 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.56 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17615 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 30 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 505 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 28 2005 2:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Washington (AAI-100) |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N703GC |
| NTSB Number | NYC03IA117 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | McDonnell Douglas |
| Aircraft Model | MD-11F |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 48411 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 630500 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 3 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 26 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 306 |
| Airframe Hours | 41725 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Wells Fargo Bank Northwest |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 299 S. Main Street |
| Aircraft Owner City | Salt Lake City |
| Aircraft Owner State | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 84111 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | GEMINI AIR CARGO INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 44965 Aviation Drive, Suite 300 |
| Operator City | Dulles |
| Operator State | VA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 20166 |
| Operator Code | G6OA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | International |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | EBBR |
| Departure City | Brussels |
| Departure State | -- |
| Departure Country | BE |
| Departure Time | 2127 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KJFK |
| Destination City | Jamaica |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 4R |
| Runway Length | 8400 |
| Runway Width | 200 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |