The runway excursion of a Joy Air Avic MA60 aircraft on 10 May is but the latest in a long series of accidents involving the troubled turboprop.
Flight JR1529 was operating the Yiwu-Fuzhou route when the aircraft, registered B3476, veered off the runway upon landing at Fuzhou Changle International airport.
No fatalities were reported among the 45 passengers and seven crew members, but Joy Air said that five passengers were rushed to hospital and suffered minor injuries.
Images on social media suggest the aircraft is likely to be a hull loss. The aircraft's left wing was twisted forward in the accident. The left engine is pressed into the turf, with the propeller blades missing. Moreover, the fuselage in front of the wing root is completely out of alignment with the fuselage aft of the wing. There also appear to be fracture lines running the circumference of the fuselage by the second and third passenger window.
Investigations into the runway excursion are ongoing. Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets database shows that Joy Air’s Ma60, serial number MSN 0805, is a 2010-built model powered by Pratt & WhitneyPW100-127J engines. The aircraft is owned by AVIC International Leasing.
Ascend adds that this was Joy Air's second accident with the MA60. On 4 February 2014, the nose undercarriage of a Joy Air MA60 collapsed during landing at Zhengzhou. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.
Prior to JR1529, there were 13 accidents involving the MA60 since 2009. These have resulted in 21 passengers and four crew fatalities, and the total loss of four aircraft. Of the remaining accidents, six were counted as major, and three as minor.
All 25 fatalities associated with the MA60 resulted from the crash of flight MNA8968 was operated by Indonesia's Merpati Airlines. The aircraft crashed into the sea while approaching Karimana airport in stormy conditions.
Other total losses include two aircraft operated by Merpati, as well as one operated by Air Zimbabwe.
Ascend shows hat 66 MA60s are in service globally, and 28 aircraft are in storage. In addition, the type has 75 firm orders. China's Okay Airways is the largest MA60 operator, with 13 aircraft in service, follow by Joy Air with eight.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
