 The wreckage of N977AN | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 December 2009 |
| Summary | Runway excursion in inclement weather due to pilot error |
| Site | Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, Jamaica 17°55′51″N 76°46′30″W / 17.93083°N 76.77500°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-823 |
| Operator | American Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | AA331 |
| ICAO flight No. | AAL331 |
| Call sign | AMERICAN 331 |
| Registration | N977AN |
| Flight origin | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Crystal City, Virginia, United States |
| Stopover | Miami International Airport Miami, Florida, United States |
| Destination | Norman Manley International Airport Kingston, Jamaica |
| Occupants | 154 |
| Passengers | 148[1] |
| Crew | 6[1] |
| Fatalities | 0[1] |
| Injuries | 85[1] |
| Survivors | 154[1] |
On 22 December 2009, an American Airlines Boeing 737-800, operating American Airlines Flight 331 (Washington, D.C.–Miami–Kingston, Jamaica) and carrying 148 passengers and 6 crew, overran runway 12 on landing at Kingston in poor weather. The plane continued on the ground outside the airport perimeter and broke apart on the beach, causing injuries.
Factors contributing to the crash include the speed of the aircraft upon landing and the plane touching down more than 4,000 feet from the threshold of the runway. Contributing factors included American Airlines' failure to provide training on tailwind landings, and the FAA's failure to implement the NTSB's previous recommendation, following a previous fatal accident involving a tailwind landing attempt, that the FAA require commercial operators to train flight crews on tailwind landings.