Lufthansa Flight 2904

Lufthansa Flight 2904

Company type	Commercial flight
Industry	Aviation
Founded	September 14, 1993 (1993-09-14)
Headquarters	Frankfurt , Germany

Lufthansa Flight 2904 involved an Airbus A320-200 traveling from Frankfurt, Germany to Warsaw, Poland, which overran the runway at Okęcie International Airport on 14 September 1993.

Incident description

Flight 2904 received clearance to land on Runway 11 and was alerted to the presence of wind shear during its approach. To adjust for the crosswind, the pilots executed a touchdown with the aircraft slightly banked to the right and at a speed approximately greater than usual. This approach followed established procedures for the reported conditions; however, the weather information was outdated. Upon landing, the anticipated crosswind had shifted to a tailwind of about . The aircraft touched down at approximately , significantly beyond the standard touchdown zone; the right main gear made contact from the runway threshold, followed by the left gear nine seconds later at .

Activation of ground spoilers and engine thrust reversers occurred only after compression of the left gear's oleo strut, as these systems depend on such pressure. Wheel brakes engaged roughly four seconds later when wheel rotation reached . Insufficient runway length remained to halt the aircraft. As it neared the runway's end and nearby obstacles, the pilot veered right off the paved surface at , causing a roll of before colliding with an embankment and an LLZ antenna using the left wing. A fire erupted in the left wing and extended into the passenger cabin. Among 70 individuals onboard, two fatalities occurred: the training captain who perished instantly and a passenger who lost consciousness due to smoke inhalation and was unable to evacuate.

Causes of the accident

The accident’s primary cause was flawed judgment and actions by the flight crew, influenced by wind shear warnings associated with a weather front passing over the airport, which brought severe wind fluctuations and heavy rain affecting runway conditions.

An additional factor was the absence of up-to-date wind information at the control tower, which hindered timely communication of changing conditions to the pilots.

Design characteristics of the aircraft also contributed. The onboard computer logic mandates a minimum compression force of 6.3 tons on each main landing gear strut before enabling ground spoilers and thrust reversers, resulting in delayed braking activation.

Aircraft systems

To prevent premature deployment of thrust reversers and spoilers, system software verifies that landing has occurred: spoilers engage when either there is at least 6.3 tons of load on each main gear strut or wheel speed surpasses 72 knots; thrust reversers activate solely based on weight criteria. Pilots have no means to override these automated controls.

In this event, neither condition was satisfied. Due to landing with a bank angle designed to counteract crosswind, combined pressure on sensors was insufficient, while hydroplaning on the wet surface kept wheel speeds below required thresholds.

Only upon touchdown of the left main gear did automatic systems permit deployment of spoilers and thrust reversers. Given wet runway conditions and delayed system activation, the aircraft exceeded runway limits, with touchdown recognition occurring approximately 125 meters beyond Runway 11’s midpoint.

Passengers and crew

The collision triggered a fire inside the cabin, leading to the death of one passenger. Additionally, the training captain occupying the co-pilot’s seat lost his life. Serious injuries were reported for fifty-one individuals, including two crew members, while five others suffered minor injuries.

See also

• Philippine Airlines Flight 137, an Airbus A320 that crashed after overrunning the runway in 1998 at Bacolod City Domestic Airport.
• American Airlines Flight 1420, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 which crashed following a runway overrun in 1999 at Little Rock National Airport.
• Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340 that went off the runway and crashed in 2005 at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
• TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320 that overran the runway and collided with a gas station in 2007 at São Paulo–Congonhas Airport.
• Korean Air Flight 631, an Airbus A330 involved in a runway overrun crash in 2022 at Mactan–Cebu International Airport.

External links

• "Report on the Accident to Airbus A320-211 Aircraft in Warsaw on 14 September 1993" (Archive) – Main Commission Aircraft Accident Investigation
• Appendices (Archive) – Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript, braking system details, excerpts from Lufthansa A320 manual