On 16 August 2018, a Boeing 737-800 operating as XiamenAir Flight 8667 skidded off the runway at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila while attempting to land in poor weather conditions. The crash occurred at 11:55 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (UTC+8) after a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Xiamen. The crash resulted in the destruction of the aircraft but no serious injuries among the crew or passengers. The damaged aircraft took 36 hours to remove from the runway, leading to a major disruption at the airport, which is the primary international gateway to the Philippines. The closure caused the cancellation of more than 200 domestic and international flights, affected more than 250,000 travelers, and prompted calls for enlargement of the airport or the construction of alternative airports to serve the country in the event of future disruptions.
After the accident, the flight crew stated in interviews that a torrential downpour obstructed their view of the runway. The investigation revealed that despite the first officer of the aircraft calling for a go-around several times during the landing, the captain attempted to complete the landing despite not being able to clearly identify the runway. The investigation led to changes in airline policy relating to cockpit resource management, planning, and operations in poor weather conditions. It also led to runway improvements at the airport to remove runway obstructions that had caused most of the severe damage experienced by the aircraft.
Accident
The aircraft, operating as flight number 8667, departed Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, in Xiamen, China, at 9:23 p.m. local time, bound for Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines. MF 8667 was a regularly scheduled flight that operated daily flights between the two cities.
Upon arrival in the Manila airspace, the aircraft circled the area waiting for a break in the thunderstorms in the area. At 11:40 p.m., the pilots attempted to land, but they aborted the attempt at above the ground because they did not have a clear view of the ground and surrounding area. After a discussion, the pilots decided to make one more landing attempt, and they planned to divert to their planned alternate airport if they had to abort during the second approach. On the second attempt, the pilots were able to establish a stabilized approach to the runway with the landing gear lowered, flaps at 30 degrees, and the speed brake in the armed position. The aircraft stayed on its targeted course along the glide slope down to . As the plane passed over the runway threshold, it began to veer to the left of center of the runway. The high intensity centerline runway lights on the runway had been out of service since August 8 due to scheduled runway refurbishment. The first officer called out "go-around", but the captain answered, "No". At above the ground, the aircraft was rolling to the left and drifting to the left of the runway center line. The first officer made another call for a go-around, but the captain again responded, "No" and "It's Okay".
The aircraft touched down on Runway 24 almost on both main gears, to the left of the runway center line, from the threshold of the runway. After touching down, the speed brakes and the autobrakes deployed, but the autobrakes disengaged shortly after due to an unknown cause. Initial witnesses reported that the aircraft appeared to bounce during the landing, before veering off to the left. The plane left the left edge of the runway, and it collided with several concrete electric junction boxes that were located in the grassy area beside the runway, causing the left main gear and the left engine to be torn off of the aircraft. As the aircraft continued into the soft grassy ground to the side of the runway, the right main landing gear and the nose gear collapsed and were folded into the gear wheel wells.
The aircraft came to a complete stop to the left of the center of the runway, about down the runway from the threshold, at about 11:55 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (UTC+08:00). The collapse of the nose wheel caused the aircraft's internal and external communication systems to fail, so the first officer left the cockpit to announce the emergency evacuation. The cabin crew conducted the evacuation of the aircraft using emergency slides on the left and right front doors. All passengers and crew were able to evacuate the aircraft with no major injuries, and only a few reporting superficial scratches.