On 29th August, a China Express Airlines Bombardier Canadair CRJ-900 overran the runway upon landing at Aksu Airport (ZWAK), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China.
According to AvHerald, the four and half year old aircraft, with registration B-3250 and performing flight G54394 from Korla to Aksu (China) with 64 passengers and nine crew onboard, had been holding at 6,000 meters (19,700 ft) for about 10 minutes prior to starting its approach to runway 27.
The aircraft touched down safely but overran the runway, coming to a stop on the soft ground about 76 meters past the runway end (and about 16 meters past the paved surface of the runway end safety area).
The below video shows passengers being evacuated via the overwing exits and having to jump or slide down the flaps, four passengers suffered minor injuries.
China’s Civil Aviation Authority has opened an investigation into the cause of the incident, however no further details have been released at this time. This post will be updated if and when more details are known.
Aksu Airport features a runway configuration of 09/27 which is 2400 meters in length and is at an elevation of 3800 feet/1160 meters.
China Express Airlines currently operates 148 regional routes with 56 aircraft, mainly CRJ900’s, and is based out of Guiyang Longdongbao (KWE / ZUGY).