L2017-3 Airliner Overrun at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport on July 11, 2017

Flight NAX4287, operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle, overran the runway at Helsinki-Vantaa airport on July 11, 2017.

The touchdown was light and slightly beyond the optimum touchdown point. The captain selected reverse thrust at the moment of the touchdown, and reverse thrust became effective three seconds after the touchdown. The speedbrakes (spoilers) had been armed, but due to the light touchdown they did not deploy automatically. The captain deployed the spoilers manually one second after the touchdown. The autobrake system had also been armed and began to decelerate the aircraft normally upon spoiler deployment.

The flight crew had planned to vacate the runway via high-speed turn-off WK. However, due to the high speed, the captain elected to pass turn-off WK and vacate the runway via a taxiway at runway end. The captain deselected the braking systems, and the aircraft continued down the runway at high speed.

The captain applied light and full manual braking with approximately 850 and approximately 570 meters of runway remaining, respectively. As the aircraft approached taxiway WH with approximately 300 m of runway remaining, the captain reselected reverse thrust and continued to apply heavy wheel braking. At this point, the aircraft was traveling at 64 kt (119 km/h). Because the captain had stowed the spoilers previously they did not deploy automatically. This reduced the rate of deceleration. The runway was wet due to rain, which also affected the rate of deceleration. The captain attempted to steer the aircraft onto taxiway WD, which is the last taxiway at runway end, but due to excessive speed was unable to turn the aircraft sufficiently. The tires impacted the runway light fixtures, and the aircraft departed the paved runway area.

The incident did not result in injuries to persons. Tires and the fan blades of one engine received damage. Two runway end light fixtures were damaged.

Air traffic control initiated local emergency procedures, and airport rescue service units alerted to go to the scene secured the aircraft. A pushback tractor was used to move the aircraft off the grass and tow it to the terminal building. The passengers remained on board throughout the event.

The investigation noted deficiencies in flight crew's actions and crew resource management (CRM), in flight crew communication, and in situational awareness during the landing roll. A contributing factor was an attempt to catch up with the schedule and expedite vacating of the runway. The flight had had already been late on arrival at Stockholm, and it departed Stockholm for Helsinki 53 min behind schedule.

Based on the investigation, the Safety Investigation Authority issues the following two safety recommendations to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA):

• EASA investigates how CRM training for ground operations can be enhanced.

• EASA investigates whether the current airline schedules are realistic and whether they affect the procedures of airline industry in a way that would degrade safety.

L2017-03 Investigation Report (pdf, 1.68 Mt) L2017-03 Accimap (pptx, 0.18 Mt)