On Friday, LATAM Peru flight LA2213 from Lima to Juliaca suffered an accident while departing Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM). The aircraft, an Airbus A320neo registration CC-BHC, collided with a fire truck crossing the runway while the plane was accelerating to take off. Two people – both firemen – died, and one remains in a critical condition.

How did the accident take place?

It is important to note that this report will simply share the series of events shown in the many videos currently available on social media. The investigation led by Peru’s Aviation Accidents Investigation Commission (CIAA in Spanish) will shed light on the possible causes that led to the tragedy. This process can take up to a year, although a preliminary report is often published within the first few months of the accident.

Yesterday, at around 15:11 local time, a group of fire trucks can be seen in a video driving through Lima’s airport with their sirens turned on. Some people on social media have claimed that these trucks were responding to another emergency, and others claimed they were undertaking training. Nonetheless, the person that recorded the video inside the airport boundaries – most likely an airport employee – can be heard asking how it is possible that the people from LIM fire department entered the runway area without first checking with air traffic control.

While the fire trucks are moving through the airport, one of them tries to cross Lima’s only runway. At the same time, LATAM Peru’s flight LA2213 is accelerating to take off. Onboard the aircraft, there were 102 passengers and six crew members, according to data released by the airline. Neither the plane nor the fire truck was able to stop and ended up colliding while the aircraft was at 127 knots (around 235 km/h).

The four-year-old Airbus A320neo, on lease to LATAM by Avolon, immediately lost its right engine, the gear collapsed, and the right wing burst into flames. Eventually, the crew managed to stop the plane, and the 108 people onboard evacuated safely. LATAM reported no serious injuries were sustained in the incident.

The aftermath

Lima Airport Partners, administrator of Peru’s most important hub, closed the runway following the accident. First, all flights were canceled until at least 13:00 on November 19 (GMT -5). The airport authorities announced on Saturday that the closure of the runway was extended until 00:00 on Sunday, November 20. Eight flights that were already en route to Lima were diverted to different destinations, according to official information. These flights were:

1. Plus Ultra 301 from Madrid International Airport. Diverted to Iquitos.
2. American Airlines 379 from Miami International Airport. Diverted to Panama City.
3. Iberia 6659 from Madrid International Airport. Diverted to Bogota.
4. Air France 480 from Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport. Diverted to Panama City.
5. KLM 743 from Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport. Diverted to Panama City.
6. Copa Airlines 131 from Panama Tocumen International Airport. Diverted to Pisco.
7. Sky Airline 5166 from Juliaca Airport. Diverted to Pisco.
8. LATAM 2122 from Arequipa Airport. Diverted to Arequipa.

Additionally, FlightRadar24.com has reported that more than 400 flights to and from Lima have been canceled so far due to the accident. Currently, the airport authorities are removing all the debris from the runway; after that, they will review the runway to check for damage. “We expect to finish these actions as soon as possible to resume the operations,” said Lima Airport Partners in a statement posted on social media.

LATAM Peru said that it has deployed all its resources to attend to those impacted by the accident. The airline is also working in coordination with local authorities to support the investigation of the event, and it has full travel flexibility available to all passengers impacted by the suspension of flights at Lima.