Source: Tonga Government
The Lulutai Airlines aircraft which exited the taxiway and hit an embankment at Fua’amotu Airport had lost its hydraulic systems after a circuit breaker tripped, the Tonga Civil Aviation Office has found.
On 8 December 2023, a Lulutai Airlines Saab 340B was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Fua’amotu International Airport, Tongatapu, to Lupepau’u Airport, Vava’u.
On descent into Vava’u, the flight crew identified an issue with the aircraft’s main hydraulic system and elected to return to Fua’amotu.
After a safe landing in Fua’amotu, the flight crew planned to stop on the runway in accordance with the abnormal checklist for hydraulic fluid loss.
But with brake pressure remaining, and without a tug readily available, the crew opted to taxi to the terminal.
During the taxi, the aircraft lost wheel braking and direction control due to the depletion of hydraulic pressure, resulting in the aircraft veering off the apron and colliding with a disused refuelling bund, collapsing the right landing gear leg. The three crew and 35 passengers were uninjured.