FedEx Express Flight 80

FedEx Express Flight 80
Aerial view of the aircraft wreckage
Accident
Date23 March 2009
SummaryStructural failure and collision with terrain following a bounced landing exacerbated by excessive pilot input
Site
Aircraft

N526FE, the aircraft involved, seen two days before the accident
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas MD-11F
OperatorFedEx Express
IATA flight No.FX80
ICAO flight No.FDX80
Call signFEDEX 80
RegistrationN526FE
Flight originGuangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou, China
DestinationNarita International Airport, Narita, Japan
Occupants2
Crew2
Fatalities2
Survivors0

FedEx Express Flight 80 was a scheduled cargo flight from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China, to Narita International Airport, Japan, operated by FedEx Express. At 06:48 JST (UTC+09:00) on March 23, 2009, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F registered N526FE operating the flight crashed while attempting a landing on Runway 34L in gusty and highly variable weather conditions, including winds in excess of 40 knots (74 km/h). The aircraft became destabilized after the fatigued co-pilot's delayed start of the landing flare, subsequently exacerbated by his excessive large, nose-down inputs causing abrupt changes in the plane's pitch , increasing the speed and severity of repeated touchdowns during the bounced landing. This resulted in a structural failure of the landing gear and airframe, with the left wing detaching and power of the jet on the right wing thus causing the plane to roll. The plane came to a stop off of the runway, with the plane inverted and on fire. The captain and first officer were the only occupants, and were both killed in the crash. The airport's rescue crew got the pilots out of the aircraft and tried getting them to a hospital, but the crew succumbed to their injuries before they could receive medical attention.