On September 13th, an Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras Airbus A320neo was on its way from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul to Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont. However, it had to abandon landing due to an indication that the runway was too short.

Airbus A320neo Azul
The planemaker has a backlog of over 6,000 A320neo orders to fulfill. Photo: Airbus

Two attempts

The Aviation Heralds reports that registration PR-YRJ was conducting flight AD-4403 with 175 passengers and six crew members on board. When it was on its final approach to Santos Dumont's runway 20L crew went around from low height.

The Azul aircraft the positioned to another approach to the runway but needed to go around once again from approximately 200 feet AGL. Eventually, the plane changed course and headed to Rio de Janeiro Galeao International Airport. Subsequently, it landed at the hub’s runway 15 approximately half an hour later. This attempt was successful on the first attempt, and everyone on board landed safely.

Azul Airbus A320neo Jet
Thankfully, the crew landed the Airbus A320neo jet safely, albeit at another airport. Photo: Rafael Luiz Canossa via Wikimedia Commons

Recent update

Today, Brazil's Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) shared that the crew received a "Runway too short" indication on the first approach. Subsequently, it flew around, conducted the relevant checklist processes, and positioned for another attempt.

However, there was another "Runway too short" indication. Therefore the A320neo went around again before diverting along the city's coast.

Azul Linhas Aereas
Azul has a diverse fleet of Embraer, Boeing, Airbus, and ATR Aircraft. Photo: Getty Images.

Azul's A320neos

PR-YRJ was delivered to Azul in November 2017. The Barueri, São Paulo-based outfit currently leases the unit.

Azul A320neo
At the moment, Azul holds 41 Airbus A320neo aircraft within its fleet. Photo: Rafael Luiz Canossa via Wikimedia Commons

This is not the only recent incident involving an Azul Airbus A320neo. Last month, a unit was descending into Porto Velho, but the crew soon received an engine fire indication notification from the left engine.

Subsequently, the engine was immediately shut down, and the fire suppression system discharged. The actions of the crew allowed the situation to be resolved and the aircraft to land safely at the airport.

Moreover, also in August, an A320neo aircraft flying between the Brazilian cities of Belem and Macapa had burst a tire after landing. The aircraft was flying 203 passengers and seven crew members before the incident happened.

Altogether, there has been a series of incidents involving Azul Airbus A320neo planed over the last few months. Nonetheless, crew have managed to keep everyone safe during these events.

Simple Flying reached out to Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras for comment on this month's incident in Rio de Janeiro but did not hear back before publication. We will update the article with any further announcements.

What are your thoughts about this incident that happened on September 13th in Brazil? Have you experienced a similar occurrence when flying over the years? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comment section.