Investigation Summary
The flight originated at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and made a scheduled stopover at San Juan, Puerto Rico, before departing for Saint Thomas. The approach to Runway 09 was conducted in clear weather with winds at 10 knots. As the aircraft descended through 30 feet, it experienced a sudden drop in airspeed, falling 5 knots below the reference speed. This resulted in a hard touchdown and a significant bounce. In an attempt to force the aircraft back onto the runway, the captain extended the speedbrakes while the aircraft was still 50 feet in the air. This action destroyed lift and caused a second, even harder impact. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captured the sound of grinding metal during this second bounce, indicating the collapse of the right main landing gear attach structure. Despite the damage, the captain attempted a go-around, but the flight engineer expressed vocal opposition, shouting that they would not make it. The aircraft struck the runway a third time 2,700 feet past the threshold, skidded off the side of the runway, and crashed into a hillside. The subsequent fire and the failure of the right wing tip to maintain clearance were critical factors in the destruction of the airframe.
Final Conclusions
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause was the captain's use of improper techniques in recovering from a high bounce generated by a poorly executed approach and touchdown. The NTSB also cited a lack of cockpit crew coordination during the approach and recovery attempt as a significant contributing factor. The investigation was finalized in the report NTSB-AAR-72-8, adopted on December 29, 1971.
Video Analysis
28 December 1970 Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | Trans Caribbean Airways Flight 505 — A detailed look at the landing accident of Trans Caribbean Airways Flight 505, focusing on the pilot's recovery techniques and the resulting runway overrun.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Age 40
First Officer
Age 45
Flight Engineer
Age 41
Systems & Failure Modes
Speedbrakes
Used by the captain while the aircraft was airborne after the first bounce; this destroyed lift and led to the catastrophic second touchdown.
Right Main Landing Gear
Suffered an attach structure failure due to overload during the second hard touchdown.
Flaps
Retracted from the landing setting to 25 degrees during the attempted go-around after the second bounce.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was only one year old at the time of the accident.
- 02The runway at Harry S. Truman Airport was relatively short at 4,650 feet.
- 03The flight engineer's final recorded words on the CVR were: 'They're coming up -- but you're not goin' to make it -- you're gonna kill us!'
- 04The accident was the only fatal crash in the history of Trans Caribbean Airways.
- 05Trans Caribbean Airways was acquired by American Airlines approximately two months after the accident, on March 1, 1971.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Bounced Landing Recovery Training
The NTSB report emphasized the importance of following established Boeing 727 Pilot Training Manual procedures for bounced landing recovery, which advise against using speedbrakes to force the aircraft down.