Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mexico City Mexico
Monday, January 26, 2004 16:07 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On January 26, 2004, at 1607 central standard time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, Brazilian registration PP-VTF, sustained minor damage following a tail strike while attempting to land on runway 23L at the Benito Juarez International Airport near Mexico City, Mexico. The 3 flight crewmembers, 7 cabin attendants, and 183 passengers were not injured. The airplane was being operated by VARIG Airlines of Brazil as flight 8670. The aircraft departed from Guarulhos International Airport near Sao Paolo, Brazil, and was destined for Mexico City, Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
While on final to runway 23L at Benito Juarez International Airport, at approximately 50 feet above ground level, the flight crew reported that a high sink rate developed. The aircraft captain attempted to cushion the landing and the tail of the aircraft struck the runway.
The accident is under the control and jurisdiction of the Government of the Republic of Mexico. Any further information may be obtained from:
Secretraria de Comunicaciones y Transportes
Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC)
Providencia 807, Cuarto Piso
Colonia del Valle, Codigo Postal 03100
Mexico, D.F.
This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by, or obtained from the DGAC of the Republic of Mexico.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 1/26/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1607 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Mexico City |
| Event State | -- |
| Event Country | MEXICO |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00000 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MMMX |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | -- |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 20000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 8 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.21 |
| 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 | 193 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | Foreign |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | DGAC of Mexico |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 28 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 930 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 29 2004 5:07PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MORJU |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | San Antonio, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | -- |
| NTSB Number | FTW04WA066 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Non-U.S., Commercial |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | -- |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | -- |
| Aircraft Explosion | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | McDonnell Douglas |
| Aircraft Model | MD-11 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | -- |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | -- |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | -- |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | -- |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | -- |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | BR |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| 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 | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | GRU |
| Departure City | Sao Paolo |
| Departure State | -- |
| Departure Country | BR |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MEX |
| Destination City | Mexico City |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | MX |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - flare/touchdown |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 29 2004 5:07PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MORJU |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |