A freak accident in Lima, Peru that saw a fire truck collide with a LATAM Airbus A320-200 on an active runway has resulted in the death of two firemen, although all passengers and crewmembers onboard survived.
Fire Truck Strikes LATAM A320-200, Killing Two
Let’s first breakdown what happened on Friday afternoon at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima.
Per the Aviation Herald:
- The aircraft involved was a LATAM Chile Airbus A320-200 (registration CC-BHB), operating flight LA2213 from Lima (LIM) to Juliaca, Peru (JUL)
- 102 passengers and 6 crew members were onboard
- The flight accelerated for takeoff from runway 16 at about 3:11 pm
- At that moment, multiple fire trucks with flashing lights and sirens sounding rolled across the runway directly in front of the accelerating aircraft
- While the crew tried to halt the takeoff, the aircraft was already traveling at 125 knots it was unable to avoid contact with the third fire truck
- To make matters worse, the fire truck turned toward the aircraft in a desperate attempt to avoid the plane, making the impact worse
- The impact caused the right main gear to collapse, sending the aircraft to veer right toward the right edge of the runway
- A fire erupted around the right-hand engine
- All passengers and crew onboard were able to evacuate the aircraft
- Four passengers were seriously injured and 36 passengers reported minor injuries
- The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the fire truck was destroyed.
- Two firefighters onboard the fire truck died and the third sustained serious injury (a skull fracture and severe head trauma that may leave him with life-long disabilities)
| URGENTE: Se incendia un avión de Latam al momento del aterrizaje en el aeropuerto internacional Jorge Chávez de Lima.
pic.twitter.com/3a5vjWdkUe— Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) November 18, 2022
Video suggests that multiple airport fire service vehicles crossed the active runway 16 immediately before the accelerating A320. One truck collided with the right engine+ wing resulting in a fire and a gear collapse. pic.twitter.com/1hvom3HYSg
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) November 18, 2022
Así fue momento en que ocurrió el choque del avión de #LATAM con un camión en el aeropuerto de #Lima, #Perú. pic.twitter.com/Fpx0zb6ZGE
— (@Mario_Moray) November 18, 2022
Human error is often at the root of collisions and human error on the part of the firefighters was certainly to blame here. The rescue vehicles may have been performing a drill because it is not clear why they entered the runway.
The runway is closed until at least this afternoon as investigates try to piece together the puzzle. Manslaughter charges are being considered, though the focus now is on understanding how this happened in the first place.
CONCLUSION
A freak crash on a runway at Lima’s main international airport has left two firemen dead and a third critically injured and also rendered an Airbus A320 potentially no longer fit for service. Thankfully, no passengers or crewmembers onboard the flight were injured.
Cuando la vida te da una segunda oportunidad #latam pic.twitter.com/Vd98Zu98Uo
— Enrique Varsi-Rospigliosi (@enriquevarsi) November 18, 2022
Wow. Raises a lot of questions about a planned drill. But it least other fire trucks were right on scene and hopefully were able to assist. Truly a freak accident
“Four passengers were seriously injured and 36 passengers reported minor injuries”
“Thankfully, no passengers or crewmembers onboard the flight were injured.”
Prayers you guys! Let’s lift those prayers up.
At least the fire department was real close
I wonder how long it took to evacuate the passengers? Did the passengers try to take their carry on bags? This was a good real life drill to learn from. Hope someone had a stopwatch…..
Aircraft accidents happen usually to a combination of issues, as evidenced by speaking to pilots at American Airlines where I work, & also watching TV shows such as Air Disasters on the Smithsonian Channel & Why Planes Crash on the Weather Channel. Aircraft always have the Right-Of-Way, but fire apparatus might think they have? It seems like a lack of communication between the tower & the truck driver & even the plane. I’m sure the aircraft was given permission to do it’s takeoff roll. Did the tower advise the truck driver & vice-versa? You don’t do a fire drill on an active runway/taxiway. Unfortunately, this last truck did not make it across the tarmac in time. You don’t try to outrun a plane or a train – they look deceivingly slow, but they’re not.
Everything I’ve read and reviewed so far indicated the Fire Department was dispatched to mitigate an incident with another aircraft when they crossed the runway. NOT A TRAINING EXERCISE. It would seem that ATC would have received that initial call and dispatched Fire. Regardless, COMMUNICATIONS appears to be the issue here. But that is for the Investigating Authorities to make that determination after an extensive and painstaking investigation. Not for armchair experts to guess about.