Image on board the Boeing 737 on approach, in the video shown below
Yesterday evening, Friday January 5, a Boeing 737 belonging to the Argentine airline Flybondi was involved in an accident, according to the Transport Safety Council (JST) of Argentina.
[SUCESO] #Aviation The accident involving the Boeing 7378Q8 LVKJE aircraft occurred at Aeropuerto Internacional Ástor Piazzolla, Mar del Plata (https://t.co/8Eowe2WaD2.) at approximately 01:28 UTC. Investigate the headquarters.
— Transport Safety Board (@JSTsucesos) January 6, 2024
The JST registry indicates that the affected aircraft was the 737800, registered under the registration number LVKJE at Ástor Piazzolla International Airport in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
A video recorded by a passenger shows the moment of landing, during which there was a strong impact that frightened travelers:
#Accident | Flight FO5720, which covered the route AEPMDQ, suffered a violent tail impact while landing at Mar del Plata Airport. It should be noted that the JST cataloged it as an “accident.”
The aircraft involved is a Boeing 7378Q8 (LVKJE).
Video credits… pic.twitter.com/uHmbaUtldH
— Vicente Valdebenito | SCL aviation photography. (@vicho_zs) January 6, 2024
In addition to the onboard video, images taken after arrival at the apron show that the accident reported by JST was a “tail strike”, i.e. an impact of the aircraft's tail on the runway at the time of landing.
The pictures show that the damage was quite extensive, many hull panels were scratched and dented:
[AHORA] This is how the fuselage of the Flybondi plane crashed and got caught in the glue on the runway of Mar del Plata airport.
📹 @diego_domi pic.twitter.com/tuZcDAD3dw https://t.co/GRCJF4hHTg
— ElCanciller.com (@elcancillercom) January 6, 2024
Image: Reproduction on social media
Data from online flight tracking platforms show that the LVKJE departed from Jorge Newbery Airport, Aeroparque, in Buenos Aires and took flight FO5720 to Mar del Plata, where it landed at 10:28 p.m. local time.
A “tail strike” occurs when the aircraft's nose elevation angle is too large and the tail is lowered so far that it touches the runway. Several factors can lead to this exaggerated elevation of the nose, and it is not possible to determine the cause without examining the factors involved.
According to Aviacionline, the aircraft, registration LVKJE, is one of the youngest aircraft in the Argentine lowcost airline's fleet. It arrived in the country in September 2023 after flying for Shanghai Airlines since leaving the factory in 2006.