Franceville – Libreville

On December 19, 2003 at 06:44 PM, Franceville – Libreville experienced a crash involving Boeing 737-300, operated by Air Gabon, with the event recorded near Libreville Estuaire (Libreville).

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

131 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 131 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 125, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. While descending to Libreville-Léon Mba Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. Due to low visibility caused by heavy rain falls, a landing was not possible and the crew followed a holding pattern of about 30 minutes for weather improvement. After landing on runway 16 (3,000 metres long), the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran at a speed of 100 knots, collided with a fence and came to rest 100 metres further. All 131 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was reported that the left engine throttle lever was in a full forward position after touchdown while the right engine throttle lever was in the reverse position. The braking action was poor because the runway surface was poor and the crew did not initiate a go-around procedure.

Aircraft reference details include registration TR-LFZ, MSN 23750, year of manufacture 1987.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 0.3718°, 9.4608°.