AerCaribe 737-400SF skids off runway on landing in Colombia

An AerCaribe 737-400SF was seriously damaged after it skidded off the runway during landing at the Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport in the city of Leticia, southern Colombia. The aircraft’s undercarriage reportedly failed and collapsed as it ran over soft ground when the freighter overshot the runway.

According to Colombia’s civil aviation authority, Aeronáutica Civil, the 27-year-old aircraft, registered HK-5197, sustained significant damage, but none of the four crew on board were injured. The aircraft first flew in 1990 as a passenger aircraft for Australian Airlines, and was converted into a special freighter in 2013.

The accident also follows a Nov. 8, 2016, incident at the Eldorado International Airport in Bogota, where another AerCaribe 737-400F suffered landing-gear strut damage after a hard landing.

AerCaribe’s mishaps are not the only cargo carrier accidents to make headlines in Colombia. A series of accidents have damaged the reputation of Aeronáutica Civil. A 727-200 freighter operated by Aerosucre has crashed shortly after takeoff from the Puerto Carreno airport near the Colombia-Venezuela border.

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