Southwest Air Lines Flight 611 A Southwest Air Lines Boeing 737-200, similar to the accident aircraft Overrun Date| 26 August 1982 Summary| Runway overrun Site| Ishigaki Airport Aircraft Aircraft type| Boeing 737-200 Operator| Southwest Air Lines (now Japan Transocean Air) Registration| JA8444 Flight origin| Naha Airport, Okinawa, Japan Destination| Ishigaki Airport Passengers| 133 Crew| 5 Injuries| 67 Survivors| 138 Southwest Air Lines Flight 611 was a scheduled flight from Naha to Ishigaki. On 26 August 1982, the Boeing 737-200 overran the runway while attempting to land. The aircraft caught fire and was destroyed, but none of the 133 passengers and 5 crew died in the accident although two crew and one passenger were seriously injured.[1][2][3] ## Contents * 1 Aircraft and crew * 2 Flight * 3 Investigation * 4 Aftermath * 5 See also * 6 Notes * 7 References * 8 External links ## Aircraft and crew[edit] The aircraft was a Boeing 737-2Q3 (JA8444) that had its maiden flight in December 1978 and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17 turbofan engines. It had logged 5,056 flight hours at the time of the accident.[2] On the day of the accident, the aircraft had flown from Naha to Miyako and then back, without any problems.[4]: 06 The captain, aged 40, had been with the airline since 1973 and became a Boeing 737 captain in 1980. He had 1,666 flight hours, all of which were on the Being 737. The first officer, aged 29, had been with the airline since 1974 and became a 737 first officer in 1981. The first officer had 878 flight hours, all on the Boeing 737.[4]: 11–12 ## Flight[edit] Southwest Air Lines Flight 611 took off on runway 36 from Naha Airport on the island of Okinawa[note 1] at 13:09 for a regular flight to Ishigaki Airport, Japan. The aircraft climbed to the cruising altitude of Flight level 240 (approximately 24,000 feet (7,300 m)). On approach to Ishigaki, the crew was given weather information for Ishigaki — wind 300 degrees at 12 knots; temperature 32 degrees C (89.6 degrees F); active runway: Runway 22. At 13:33 Flight 611 descended to 8,000 feet (2,400 m).[4]: 06 The crew of Flight 611 made a crosswind landing at a speed of 131 knots (243 km/h; 151 mph), slightly higher than the reference airspeed. The aircraft bounced and on touching down again the spoilers and thrust reversers did not seem to operate.[4]: 07 The flight crew shut down both engines but this action disabled the anti-skid braking system, and during the landing rolls the inner tires on both main gear legs burst almost simultaneously. Flight 611 overran the runway and came to rest 145 meters (476 feet) beyond the threshold at 13:49. Everyone on board was evacuated. At 14:01 the Boeing 737 caught fire and was destroyed.[2][4]: 07–08 Diagram of flight 611's landing (in Japanese) None of the 138 passengers and crew were killed in the accident, but 67 were injured. Serious injuries were prevented by a quick evacuation although a stewardess and an elderly woman passenger were detained in hospital.[5] ## Investigation[edit] The Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission (AAIC) investigated the accident. The investigators initially suspected that a mechanical failure had caused the accident,[6] but five days later, the AAIC stated that the flight crew's actions was more likely because of the high-speed landing.[7] The AAIC determined that the cause of the accident was the flight crew's inappropriate decision to shut down the engines and the captain's delay in applying the brakes. The lack of anti-skid reduced braking action to half of what it would have been if the anti-skid was on. Even with the high-speed landing, the accident could have been prevented by applying maximum braking and not shutting down the engines, which would have resulted in the aircraft stopping in the runway safety area instead of overshooting the runway altogether.[4]: 43–44 ## Aftermath[edit] The Japanese branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) questioned the AAIC's findings on the accident.[8] A criminal prosecution of the captain, citing negligence, was opened by the Naha District Prosecutor's Office, but the case was later dismissed due to lack of evidence.[8][9] Overview of Ishigaki Airport Aviation official determined that Ishigaki Airport's runway length of 4,900 feet (1,500 m), was insufficient for the Boeing 737 to land on safely. This led to Ishigaki Airport being closed in 2013 and it was replaced by the New Ishigaki Airport.[10][11] In 2008, before Ishigaki Airport was closed, a training for a runway overrun was held at the airport, with 250 people participating.[12] ## See also[edit] * Atlantic Airways Flight 670 ## Notes[edit] 1. ^ The ASN accident synopsis states that the departure point was Naha Airport in Indonesia; however, the runway at Naha, Indonesia, is oriented in a different direction and is too short for Boeing 737 operations. The airline was based at Naha, Okinawa, and had never operated to Indonesia. The flight from Indonesia to the accident airport took more than three hours ## References[edit] 1. ^ CAP 479 World Airline Accident Summary (United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority) Page 16/82 2. ^ a b c Ranter, Harro. "Accident description Southwest Air Lines Flight 611". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 5 July 2018.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 3. ^ "JTA-五十年間守り続ける安全・安心" [JTA-Safety and security that will continue to be protected for fifty years] (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2019.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 4. ^ a b c d e f "Final report" (PDF). Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 5. ^ "Narrow escape for 138 in jet". The Times. No. 61322\. 27 August 1982. p. 5. 6. ^ "制動装置の作動不完全" [Incomplete operation of braking device]. Ryūkyū Shimpō (in Japanese). 1982-08-28. 7. ^ "着陸時に速度超過" [Overspeed when landing]. Ryūkyū Shimpō (in Japanese). 1982-08-31. 8. ^ a b "石垣事故不起訴までの取り組み" [Efforts to avoid prosecution of Ishigaki accident] (PDF) (in Japanese). Air Line Pilots Association of Japan. 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020. 9. ^ "機長を不起訴処分" [Non-indictment of the captain]. Ryūkyū Shimpō (in Japanese). 1986-11-29. 10. ^ "4. 空港建設の効果" [4\. Effect of airport construction] (PDF) (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefecture New Ishigaki Airport Division.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 11. ^ "沖縄県新石垣空港課-これまでの経緯" [Okinawa Prefecture New Ishigaki Airport Division-History so far] (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2019.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 12. ^ "オーバーラン事故を想定 石垣空港で航空機事故訓練" [Assuming an overrun accident: Aircraft accident training at Ishigaki Airport] (in Japanese). 八重山毎日新聞. Retrieved 25 November 2019.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link) ## External links[edit] * Aviation Safety Network * v * t * e Aviation accidents and incidents in Japan * Tachikawa air disaster (June 1953) * Okinawa F-100 crash (June 1959) * Machida F-8 crash (April 1964) * All Nippon Airways Flight 60 (February 1966) * Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 (March 1966) * BOAC Flight 911 (March 1966) * All Nippon Airways Flight 533 (November 1966) * Toa Domestic Airlines Flight 63 (July 1971) * All Nippon Airways Flight 58 (July 1971) * Yokohama F-4 crash (September 1977) * Japan Airlines Flight 115 (June 1978) * Japan Air Lines Flight 350 (February 1982) * Southwest Air Lines Flight 611 (August 1982) * Japan Air Lines Flight 123 (August 1985) * Japan Air System Flight 451 (April 1993) * China Airlines Flight 140 (April 1994) * Philippine Airlines Flight 434 (December 1994) * Garuda Indonesia Flight 865 (June 1996) * All Nippon Airways Flight 61 (July 1999) * 2001 Japan Airlines mid-air incident (January 2001) * China Airlines Flight 120 (August 2007) * FedEx Express Flight 80 (March 2009) * Asiana Airlines Flight 162 (April 2015) * Korean Air Flight 2708 (May 2016) * v * t * e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1982 (1982) * Jan 13 Air Florida Flight 90 * Jan 18 Thunderbirds Indian Springs "Diamond Crash" * Jan 23 World Airways Flight 30H * Feb 6 Korean Air Force C-123 accident * Feb 9 Japan Air Lines Flight 350 * Feb 21 Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458 * Mar 11 Widerøe Flight 933 * Mar 20 Garuda Fokker F28 crash * Mar 26 Aeropesca Colombia Flight 217 * Apr 26 CAAC Flight 3303 * May 25 RAF Jaguar shootdown incident * Jun 6 British Army Gazelle friendly fire incident * Jun 8 VASP Flight 168 * Jun 12 TABA Fairchild FH-227 accident * Jun 21 Air India Flight 403 * Jun 24 British Airways Flight 009 * Jun 28 Aeroflot Flight 8641 * Jul 6 Aeroflot Flight 411 * Jul 9 Pan Am Flight 759 * Jul 23 Twilight Zone accident * Aug 11 Pan Am Flight 830 * Aug 26 Southwest Air Lines Flight 611 * Sep 1 Aerocondor DHC-4 Caribou accident * Sep 13 Spantax Flight 995 * Sep 13 Bristow Helicopters Bell 212 accident * Sep 29 Aeroflot Flight 343 * Dec 9 Aeronor Flight 304 * Dec 24 CAAC Flight 2311 1981 ◀ ▶ 1983 * v * t * e JAL Group International| * Japan Airlines Regional| * Hokkaido Air System * J-Air * Japan Air Commuter * Japan Transocean Air * Ryukyu Air Commuter Former| * Japan Airlines Domestic * Japan Asia Airways * JAL Express * JALways History| | JAL accidents and incidents| * Flight 2 (1968) * Flight 351 (1970) * Flight 471 (1972) * Flight 472 (1972) * Flight 446 (1972) * Flight 404 (1973) * Food poisoning incident (1975) * Flight 1045 (1977) * Flight 715 (1977) * Flight 472 (1977) * Flight 350 (1982) * Flight 123 (1985) * Flight 1628 incident (1986) * Flight 46E (1993) * Flights 907 and 958 (2001) | Services| * JAL destinations People| * Kazuo Inamori *[v]: View this template *[t]: Discuss this template *[e]: Edit this template