RED Air Flight 203 (L5203/REA203) was a scheduled international commercial passenger flight from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Miami by RED Air.[1] On 21 June 2022, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft operating the service suffered a left landing gear collapse and runway excursion, causing the left wing of the aircraft to impact an antenna structure, followed by a subsequent fire on the right side of the airplane.[2][3] The incident caused three people to be hospitalized with minor injuries.[4][5][6]

This article needs to be updated. (November 2022)

RED Air Flight 203

This photo of the aircraft was taken on the same day of the incident.
Occurrence
Date	21 June 2022
Summary	Runway excursion, under investigation
Site	Miami International Airport, United States
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Operator	RED Air
IATA flight No.	L5203
ICAO flight No.	REA203
Call sign	RED DOMINICANA 203
Registration	HI1064
Flight origin	Las Américas International Airport, Dominican Republic
Destination	Miami International Airport, United States
Occupants	140
Passengers	130
Crew	10
Fatalities	0
Injuries	3
Survivors	140

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 with the registration of HI1064 and serial number 53027. The aircraft was first delivered to American Airlines in December 1990, where it operated until August 2014. The aircraft was then stored until August 2017, when it was acquired by LASER Airlines. The aircraft had previously been painted in the Orange Air livery however never entered service with the airline. The aircraft was then transferred to RED Air, a subsidiary of LASER Airlines, in February 2021.[7]

Passengers and crew

There were 140 occupants on board the accident flight: 130 passengers and 10 crew members. Airport officials reported that all of them survived. The local fire rescuer authorities reported that 3 people suffered minor injuries and were sent to the hospital.[8][9]

Incident

According to Flightradar24, RED Air Flight 203 departed from Las Américas International Airport in the Dominican Republic at 3:36 PM (19:36 UTC) and landed at Miami International Airport on runway 09 at 5:38 PM (21:38 UTC) after a flight time of 2 hours and 3 minutes on 21 June 2022.[10][11] During landing, the aircraft's left main landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft's left wing to scratch the runway. Just before the aircraft came to a full stop, the right landing gear and nose landing gear also collapsed, resulting in damage to the aircraft's nose and a fire on the right wing. Firefighters found fuel leaking from the aircraft when they arrived on scene. The aircraft had also reportedly collided with a communication tower and a small building before catching fire. Passengers began evacuating the plane about 5 seconds after the aircraft stopped and fled with their personal belongings.[8][9] This is RED Air's first aircraft to be involved in a hull loss accident.[12][13]

Investigation

Footage of the incident

The scene was captured by Miami International Airport's CCTV camera[9] and the ground crew employee's cellphone.[14] Recently, two videos were released showing scenes onboard the aircraft during the landing and when the passengers were evacuating the aircraft. The footage was recorded by one of the passengers onboard. The first video shows the aircraft's harsh landing and the unusual vibrations before the left landing gear collapsed. The collapse of the left landing gear was heard at the end of the first video. The second video shows the passenger who recorded the footage exiting the aircraft.[15][16] Another smartphone video was released, showing the moment inside the plane from touch down on the runway until the stop of the aircraft. This video shows just what the other onboard video shows, but this video also shows the passengers’ reactions during the incident.[17]

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is on scene investigating the accident. The preliminary report were already released by NTSB.[18][19][20][21][22]

Gallery

The aircraft involved in 2008 whilst in service with American Airlines

The aircraft in 2017 whilst waiting to enter service with Orange Air

The aircraft in 2018 whilst in service with parent company LASER Airlines

See also

• DHL Aero Expreso Flight 7216
• Emirates Flight 521
• Tibet Airlines Flight 9833
• FedEx Express Flight 910

References

На других языках

[fr] Vol Red Air 203

[ru] Авария MD-82 в Майами