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) |
![]() This photo of the aircraft was taken on the same day of the incident. | |
Occurrence | |
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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 |
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]
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]
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]
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]
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2022 (2022) | |
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 2020s | |
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See also: Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States by state |