Date: April 27, 1976
Type: Boeing 727-95
Registration: N1963
Operator: American Airlines, Inc.
Where: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Report No. NTSB-AAR-77-1
Report Date: December 16, 1976
Pages: 61

About 1510 A.s.t. on April 27, 1976, American Airlines, Inc., Flight 625 
overran the departure end of runway 9 after landing at the Harry S Truman 
Airport, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The aircraft 
struck the instrument landing system localizer antenna, crashed through a 
chain link fence, and came to rest against a building located about 1,040 
feet beyond the departure end of the runway. The aircraft was destroyed. 
Of the 88 persons aboard the aircraft, 35 passengers and 2 flight 
attendants were killed. Thirty-eight other persons received injuries 
which ranged from minor to serious. One person on the ground was injured 
seriously.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable 
cause of the accident was the captain's actions and his judgment in 
initiating a go-around maneuver with insufficient runway remaining after 
a long touchdown. The long touchdown is attributed to a deviation from 
precribed landing techniques and an encounter with an adverse wind 
condition, common at the airport.

The nonavailability of information about the aircraft's go-around 
performance capabilities may have been a factor in the captain's abortive 
attempt to go-around after a long landing.