News
Xiamen Air B737 severely damaged in Manila landing incident
August 24th 2018
A B737-800 en route from Xiamen to Manila suffered a hard landing and subsequent runway excursion when touching down on Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (NAIA’s) main runway 24 during a tropical storm. Read More »
All 157 passengers and eight crew on board the aircraft were evacuated safely. “The crew immediately initiated emergency evacuation procedures. All 157 passengers and eight crew on board were evacuated safely with no injuries,” the SkyTeam member carrier said on social media.
The incident occurred at 11:55pm local time. Runway 24 was closed immediately and NAIA only reopened it at 4pm the following day, causing the cancellation of approximately 50 long-haul flights (since runway 24 is the only runway capable of accommodating widebody aircraft).
The stricken aircraft looks like a write-off, having sustained substantial damage to the undercarriage and wings. The left engine was detached in the incident.
On Wednesday, Manila International Airport Authority general manager, Eddie Monreal, told media Xiamen Air had agreed to cover the cost of the damage to the airfield. “All we spent during the recovery operations will be charged to Xiamen Air,” Monreal said. He estimated that the damage could exceed PHP15 million (US$280,000).
The official cause of the incident remains unclear, although initial findings appear to point to a combination of pilot error and bad weather.
Xiamen Air is an all-Boeing operator with a fast-growing fleet currently counting 195 aircraft. The jet involved in the Manila incident is owned by the airline and was delivered in January 2010. Xiamen Air’s major shareholder is China Southern Airlines, with a 55% stake.
