LATAM Airbus A321 Incident: Runway Skid in Florianópolis, Brazil

A LATAM Airlines Airbus A321 slid off the runway at Hercílio Luz International Airport (FLN), Florianópolis, Brazil during heavy rain.

The aircraft, registered as PT-MXM, was operating regularly scheduled LATAM Brazil flight LA3300 from Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) to FLN when it skidded off the runway during arrival at its destination following an hour-long flight at 9:20 am local time (UTC -2).

According to flightradar24.com data, the Meteorological Aerodrome Report (METAR) at FLN at 9:00 am local time (UTC -2) showed wind speeds of 3 knots with rain (RA).

CCTV footage shared on Twitter captured the LATAM Airlines Airbus A321 rolling down the runway and suddenly veering left, with additional pictures showing the aircraft’s front landing gear stuck in the mud.

Subsequently, the Brazilian authorities issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) at 09:43 am local time (UTC -2) for FNL, warning that runway 14/32 was closed due to an accident at the location. The NOTAM expired at 2:00 pm local time (UTC -2).

While there was no NOTAM for runway 03/21, all flights in and out of the airport were canceled. Three flights from Azul Linhas Aereas, GOL Linhas Aereas, and LATAM Airlines diverted to other airports.

The LATAM Airlines Airbus A321 has remained at FLN since the incident.

“[A] Recovery Team started the removal process of the Airbus A321 aircraft (PT-MXM) that was flying LA 3300 (São Paulo/Guarulhos-Florianópolis) on Wednesday (07/12) and suffered a lateral deviation on the runway after landing. All 172 passengers and 7 crew were disembarked safely,” said the airline in a statement on its website, adding that the “causes of this incident will be officially pointed out by the competent authorities, with which the company is in coordination”.