A private chartered Gulfstream jet from Austin, Texas, crash landed at Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, breaking in half.
At least 6 people were injured and transported to Hospital Escuela. It is believed the injured were Americans.
The aircraft skidded off the runway upon landing and fell into a small abyss where it split in two over a highway.
Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane was registered to TVPX Aircraft Solutions Inc. in North Salt Lake, Utah.
Tegucigalpa’s airport is known as one of the more difficult approaches for pilots, as it is surrounded by mountaintops and residential neighborhoods. It is located 6 km (3.72 miles) from downtown Tegucigalpa and has long been considered to be one of the most difficult, dangerous landings thanks in part to its unusual mountainous location. The runway is one of the world’s shortest, merely 6,112 feet in length (LAX features roughly 3,000 additional feet for large aircraft).
The mountainous terrain surrounding the small airport forces an approach that results in a fast decent and a sharp turn prior to lining up with the runway. Frequent gusts of wind complicate matters even further, requiring quick yaw adjustments to the vertical stabilizer’s rudder, pitch adjustments to the horizontal stabilizer’s elevators and roll adjustments to the wing’s ailerons in order to angle the aircraft for final approach.
