LATAM 1 640LATAM Airbus hits fire truck

On 18 November, LATAM Airlines Chile flight LA2213 (Airbus A320 CC-BHB, 7864) got writtenoff when it collided with a fire truck during take-off from runway 16 at Jorge Chávez International Airport, Peru.

There were no fatalities inside the plane among the six crew members and 102 passengers, but four passengers received serious and 36 passengers minor injuries. Two firefighters inside the truck sustained fatal injuries, while a third received serious injuries.

Review of flightradar tracks show that the aircraft struck the fire truck at around 127 knots. The right gear collapsed and the aircraft caught fire. It was taking off for a domestic flight to Juliaca.

At the time of the accident multiple fire trucks with flashing lights and sirenes sounding crossed the runway in front of the accelerating aircraft, without proper clearance from ATC. They had been responding to another aircraft that had suffered mechanical problems.

The crew rejected the take-off at high speed but was unable to avoid contact with fire truck number three, although the truck tried to turn around turning right (into direction of the aircraft). The right main gear collapsed causing the aircraft to veer right towards the right hand runway edge, coming to a stop partially off the runway, about 2,500 metres down the runway.

See this YouTube video which shows what happened.

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