Investigation Summary
The approach to St. Thomas was notoriously difficult due to the short runway and local wind patterns. On the day of the accident, the captain elected to use 30 degrees of flaps instead of the company-prescribed 40 degrees, anticipating gusty conditions that were not actually present. This increased the approach speed. During the flare, the aircraft encountered turbulence and 'floated,' eventually touching down approximately 2,300 to 2,800 feet down the runway. Realizing the remaining distance was insufficient for braking, the captain initiated a go-around. However, the Boeing 727's JT8D engines required several seconds to spool up from idle. Sensing a lack of immediate acceleration, the captain panicked and aborted the go-around, applying full brakes with only about 1,200 feet of hard surface remaining. The aircraft could not stop in time, overrunning the runway at high speed.
Final Conclusions
The NTSB determined the probable cause was the captain's action in initiating a go-around maneuver with insufficient runway remaining after a long touchdown. Contributing factors included a deviation from prescribed landing techniques (using Flaps 30 instead of Flaps 40) and the encounter with adverse wind conditions. The board also noted that the lack of information available to the crew regarding the aircraft's go-around performance capabilities from a touchdown state may have influenced the captain's decision to abort the maneuver.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No Clear Option | American Airlines Flight 625 — A detailed breakdown of the approach, the decision-making process in the cockpit, and the physical limitations of the Boeing 727 that led to the disaster at St. Thomas.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Arthur Bujnowski, age 54.
First Officer
Edward Offchiss, age 36.
Flight Engineer
Donald Meatler, age 45.
Systems & Failure Modes
Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A Engines
The slow spool-up time of these engines contributed to the pilot's perception that the go-around was failing.
Flaps
The use of 30-degree flaps instead of 40-degree flaps increased the approach speed and landing distance.
Thrust Reversers
Post-crash inspection showed the reversers were only partially deployed, as they were applied too late to be effective.
Interesting Facts
- 01The runway at Harry S. Truman Airport was 4,650 feet long with 515 feet of overrun.
- 02The captain had performed 154 previous landings at St. Thomas.
- 03The 727's engines took approximately 6.6 seconds to reach full power from an idle state.
- 04The aircraft touched down with only 1,850 feet of runway remaining.
- 0537 of the 88 people on board were killed, including two flight attendants.
- 06One person on the ground was seriously injured when the aircraft struck the gas station.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Suspension of Jet Operations
American Airlines suspended all jet service to St. Thomas immediately after the crash, utilizing St. Croix as a hub and shuttling passengers via smaller Convair 440 propeller aircraft.
Runway Extension
The runway at St. Thomas was eventually extended to 7,000 feet to safely accommodate modern jet aircraft.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Captain's Decision-Making vs. Training
Reference ↗The NTSB investigation highlighted a conflict between the captain's actions and his training. While he was trained to go around immediately if a landing 'floated' or was long, he delayed the decision until it was physically impossible to complete the maneuver, and then compounded the error by aborting the go-around once it had already been initiated.