Airbus Industrie 330-301 incident near Agana, December 17, 2002
On December 17, 2002 at about 11:35 am local time, a Airbus Industrie 330-301, registered FOHZO, suffered minor damage in an incident near Agana (Guam International airport). It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 115 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's initiation of a premature descent that was both below the nominal glideslope and steeper than normal. Contributing to the incident was the air traffic controller's failure to respond to the MSAW warning and issue a safety alert as required by FAA order.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 17, 2002 · about 11:35 am local time
- Place
- Agana · Guam International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 115 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie 330-301
- Registration
- FOHZO · no longer on the register · serial MFR #188
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Philippine Airlines Airbus A330 began an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 6L at A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport. According to flight data recorder information and the captain's statement, the captain set the autopilot to fly a 3.4 degree descent angle as the aircraft descended through 3,600 feet. At that point, the aircraft was 12.7 miles from the runway 6L touchdown point, where the calculated glideslope height based on the 3.0 degree glideslope specified on the ILS 6L approach chart is 4,060 feet. Therefore, the aircraft began its approach from a position 460 feet below the glideslope at an angle that was 0.4 degrees steeper than the standard glideslope. This resulted in a descent path that ended at the top of Nimitz Hill, approximately 4.5 miles from the runway 6L touchdown point. The airplane struck power lines at the hilltop, which is located about one mile from the site of a fatal accident involving a Korean Airlines (KAL) Boeing 747 that occurred in 1997. The crew then responded to a ground proximity warning system(GPWS) alert and began a climb, returning for another approach. The Guam air traffic control radar system generated a minimum safe altitude warning (MSAW) alert to the radar controller at 17:34:25 that continued for 1 minute and 22 seconds and ended at 17:35:47. During this period, the aircraft descended from approximately 1,700 feet to approximately 700 feet, and then began climbing in response to the GPWS alert. The controller took no action to warn the crew or the GUM tower controller about the aircraft's MSAW alert status or proximity to terrain. After the 1997 KAL accident, the Safety Board recommended that the FAA consider designating Guam International Airport as a special airport requiring special pilot qualifications. At this time, that recommendation is classified as "Open - Acceptable Action" by the Safety Board.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 509,000 lb
- Seats: 335
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: General Electric CF6 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Philippine Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: MNL Manila
- Destination: GUM Agana
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6L, 10,015 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: vv at 200 ft; ovct
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 15 | |||
| Passengers | 100 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.