All Nippon Airways Narita Airport overrun accident

The Air Japan Flight 908 Narita Airport overrun accident (Air Japan 908-bin Narita Kūkō ōbāran jiko) is an aviation accident involving an Air Japan aircraft that occurred at New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport) on 27 January 2003 (Heisei 15).

Overview of the accident

Air Japan Flight 908 (All Nippon Airways Flight 908), which took off from Incheon International Airport in the Republic of Korea on the afternoon of 27 January 2003 (Heisei 15), was operated with a Boeing 767-300ER (registration: JA605A). The flight's departure had been delayed.

It attempted to land on Runway B (the provisional parallel runway, 2,180 metres) of Narita International Airport (at the time New Tokyo International Airport) at 21:49, but partly because of heavy rain and a 13-metre tailwind, it touched down with excess speed at around 940 metres from the runway end, close to the middle of the runway.

However, because of the excess speed it floated up, and touched down again at the 1250-metre point, but could not stop at the southern end of the runway and overran, running through the stopway at the runway end; the nose gear went on to depart the paved area by about 70 metres, and the aircraft collided with aeronautical lights and stopped at a point about 10 metres into a grass green belt. The right main gear also departed the pavement.

As a result, runway taxiway lights and auxiliary lights were damaged, but there was no major damage to the aircraft and no one was injured. However, because the aircraft became stuck in the mud of the green belt and could not get out under its own power, the passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft by stairs and were taken to the terminal by bus.

After the accident Runway B was immediately closed, and airport staff and All Nippon Airways employees worked with tow tractors and equipment to extract the aircraft; the aircraft was extracted, the damaged guidance lights and auxiliary lights were repaired, and the runway resumed use at 6:55 am the next day, the 28th. As a result some arriving and departing flights were delayed, but partly because the accident occurred just before the end of scheduled arrivals and departures, no major disruption arose even though the runway was closed for about 10 hours.

This accident was the first overrun accident at Narita International Airport since it opened on 20 May 1978 (Showa 53).

Cause of the accident

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism designated this case a "serious incident", and the Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission carried out an investigation into the cause of the accident. Subsequently, on 26 September 2003, the Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission published a report citing as the main cause a piloting error in which the pilots failed to exercise the care necessary to land on the relatively short Runway B.

The report attributed the overrun to the captain approaching and landing at a higher speed than he intended with a tailwind blowing, so that the touchdown point was greatly extended, and pointed out, among other things, that the captain did not go around because he lacked awareness that the speed was high when crossing the threshold, that there was no callout of excess speed from the first officer and the trainee and no advice that a go-around should be made, and that the flight crew had no clear reference for the touchdown point.

JA605A, which became the accident aircraft, was subsequently repaired and returned to commercial service, and from 2021 was transferred from All Nippon Airways to AIRDO. As of 2025 it is still in active service with AIRDO.