Probe of Fatal TACA Crash Underway

A TACA Airbus A320-233 (El-TAF) skidded off a rain-soaked runway at Tegucigalpa-Toncontin Airport (TGU) in Honduras on May 30, veered onto a road, smashing into cars and a building. TACA Flight 390, a regular flight from San Salvador’s Comalapa International Airport (SAL), El Salvador to Miami International with an intermediate stop at Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, ended with the jetliner broken in three parts. A pilot, two passengers and two occupants of a car were killed.  At least 80 others were injured among those aboard the A320, including 124 passengers, two pilots, four flight attendants and five crewmembers who were being repositioned. The jetliner landed amid high winds and low visibility. The approach to the aging Honduran airport is difficult even in clear weather. The A320 exited Runway 02/20 (6,112 x 148 feet). The morning of the accident, Tropical Storm Alma had buffeted Nicaragua’s Pacific coast before its remnant headed inland over southern Honduras. The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team of investigators to assist the governments of Honduras and El Salvador in their investigation of the fatal runway overrun. The last time El Salvador’s TACA International Airlines was involved in an accident was in 1993 when one of its Boeing 767s overran a runway while landing at Guatemala City, Guatemala, crashing into houses. There were no fatalities in the earlier runway excursion. The last fatal air accident in Honduras occurred in 1997 when a USAF C-130 crashed, taking three lives.