[3] The aircraft, an Airbus A320-233, overran the runway after landing at Tegucigalpa's Toncontín International Airport and rolled out into a street, crashing into an embankment and smashing several cars in the process.

[4][5] El Salvador's Civil Aviation Authority spearheaded the investigation, which attributed the accident to pilot error.

The pilots, who became increasingly frustrated due to the deteriorating weather condition and their difficult approach, misjudged the distance that they required for landing.

The Argentinian embassy stated that a group of 9 ballet dancers were aboard the flight and were heading to a dance festival in Honduras.

[8][9] Among the passengers were the Brazilian ambassador to Honduras, Brian Michael Fraser Neele; his wife, Jeanne Chantal; former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Daniel López Carballo;[10] president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration Harry Brautigam; former Honduran Minister of Industry and Commerce, Norman Garcia;[11] Marta Castillo, Vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, and former Minister of Housing and Planning of Costa Rica, Helio Fallas.

As a result of its location, the airport needs a specifically made, complicated approach plan in order for aircraft to land safely.

Visibility was limited to 2 km and low cloud ceilings were prevailing at the south of the airport, while condition for the remaining areas were good enough.

[5]: 9-10,91-92 Tegucigalpa ATC later gave more instructions to the crew, including the fix point on the south west of the airport for a VOR approach to Runway 02.

During the go-around, Captain D'Antonio said to First Officer Artero that he would not set the thrust to TO/GA powers to not cause discomfort to the passengers.

The TACA officer who handled Flight 390 instead suggested them to land using Runway 20, which earlier had been decided by Captain D'Antonio to not be used due to the prevailing weather.

However, prior to the flight, San Pedro Sula had been considered as the alternate airport and fuel had been added in case the crew failed to land in Toncontín and needed to divert.

[5]: 95 First Officer Artero asked for information regarding the prevailing weather condition and the ATC stated that the wind was blowing at 7 knots.

As First Officer Artero announced their intention to the ATC, the controller gave the recent update regarding the wind speed.

[5]: 99-101 Failing to stop, the aircraft ran off at a speed of 54 knots (62 mph; 100 km/h) and flew a little before it came crashing down onto a public road and smashed through passing vehicles.

After the forward door was successfully opened, rescuers managed to rescue the remaining occupants who were trapped by the mangled cabin.

[22] The deceased passengers were later confirmed as Jeanne Chantal Neele, the wife of Brian Michael Fraser Neele [de] (Brazil's ambassador to Honduras, who was also on board), and Nicaraguan businessman Harry Brautigam, president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration; Brautigam died from a heart attack.

[24] Honduran newspaper La Prensa stated that the deceased were a taxi driver and a motorcyclist, whose vehicles were crushed directly beneath the aircraft.

[2] Among those injured were Ambassador Fraser Neele, the former head of the Honduran armed forces; Daniel López Carballo, Marta Castillo, Norman Garcia and Helio Fallas.

[26] TACA executive director, Roberto Kriete, stated that at least 4 people, including First Officer Artero, were in critical condition.

Prior to landing, the crew had acknowledged the dangerous weather condition around the airport, including the presence of tailwind and headwind.

By the time the nose had touched the ground, the spoilers were retracted and the reversers were decreased as they thought that their actions were enough to cause the aircraft to decelerate.

As it was the first trip of a long transcontinental flight, the aircraft would be weighing near its maximum landing weight due to unloaded cargo.

This was caused by the passage of Tropical Storm Alma, which, at the time of the accident, was moving through the country and producing torrential rains across the region.

Combined with the continuous rain, the lack of grooving on the pavement caused rainwater to pool on the runway and eventually diminished the deceleration of the aircraft.

Following their failed first attempt to land at Toncontin, it was likely that they had faced increased workload pressure and become more stressed due to a possible flight diversion to San Pedro Sula, which was located up north of the country.

Even though both crew members knew about the presence of such fast-moving wind, Captain D'Antonio, as the commander of the flight, insisted on landing on Runway 02.

However, due to the presence of a tailwind, landing weight near its maximum permissible state, and a wet and short runway, the aircraft failed to stop.

Taking the tailwind and wet runway condition into account, the Actual Landing Distance (ALD) for Flight 390 would have been 1,572 meters.

[5]: 84-86 The accident report stated that the airplane had landed with a 10-knot (19 km/h; 12 mph) tailwind, 400 metres (1,300 ft) from the displaced approach end of the runway.

[1][16] The Civil Aviation Authority concluded the cause of the accident was the flight crew's inappropriate decision to continue the landing despite not assessing the conditions of the runway, which did not follow standard operating procedures.