American Eagle flight 5401 was a flight between Mayagüez's Eugenio Maria de Hostos Airport and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On the afternoon of May 9, 2004, the ATR-72 airplane (registered as N438AT), took off from Mayagüez and had a normal flight to San Juan. The cabin crew did not report any problems to the SJU control tower.
During landing, a sudden wave of winds hit the airplane. According to witnesses and official accounts, the winds caused the airplane to turn to the left side, with its left wing violently impacting the ground. The plane circled several times before coming to a stop near the end of the airport's main runway. The accident closed the runway for about an hour and a half after the accident.
One of the airplane's landing gears flew off as a result of the impact, damaging an engine. Of the 26 people on board—20 passengers, 4 crewmembers and 2 stowaways—13 received minor injuries and there were no fatalities. However, the pilot, co-pilot and the two stowaways were critically injured. As it turned out, a team of city rescuers was practicing on the beach located one block away from the airport, and they ran to the scene as soon as the airplane crashed, perhaps helping to save some lives. The airport's fire rescue team also helped in the operation.
Most of the injured were taken either to Carolina area hospitals, or to Centro Medico , in Rio Piedras.
At about 5:15 AST, American Eagle personnel staged a press conference at the airport's conference lounge, to announce the crash and answer preliminary questions.
An FAA investigation into the crash is ongoing.