Gulf Air flight from Bahrain overshoots runway at Kochi (Cochin)
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Have learnt from experience that if you expect the unexpected at Indian airports you still get surprised by the downright ridiculous.
Wind calm can easily mean calm from behind at 10kts.
It's often like watching a cow loading a musket !
Wind calm can easily mean calm from behind at 10kts.
It's often like watching a cow loading a musket !
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
..or the legendary:
"We have nine octas cloud at three hundred feet"
"But you can only have eight octas"
"No, no. I have seen eight octas, and this is much, much worse"
..and I'm still trying to get my head around the idea of a cow loading a musket.
"We have nine octas cloud at three hundred feet"
"But you can only have eight octas"
"No, no. I have seen eight octas, and this is much, much worse"
..and I'm still trying to get my head around the idea of a cow loading a musket.
Thread Starter
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AFTER THE DGCA ITS THE IMD THAT'S BEEN CAUGHT NAPPING!!
Courtesy TOI:
The pilots would have gone through the 3am and 3.30am METAR reports. The 3.30am and 4am METAR reports for Cochin airport were not available on the government website and it is also not known whether these reports were transmitted to the pilots. But the METAR reports for 3am and 4.30am - that is the report issued about an hour before the accident and one issued 35 minutes after the accident - showed good weather.
The 3am report indicates 5 knot winds - acceptable for the size of an A320 - and speaks of clouds at 1000 feet and 800 feet. It ends by saying there will be no significant change in weather in the next hour or so. Similarly, the 4.30am report indicates no surface wind and few clouds, though it says that the sky will be overcast at 800 feet.
"The pilot said that he was suddenly assailed by strong winds and gust of rain after he descended below decision height," said Director General of Civil Aviation Bharat Bhushan. "But the inquiry is still on. So we need to see what the real conditions were," he added.
( No METAR how will you know the real conditions now??)
"The 3am and 4.30am METAR reports are very misleading," said a senior commander. The pilots would have used the 3am METAR report to plan their landing. "There is nothing adverse reported in this report. It gave pilots an idea that the weather is fine, which was not the case" he added.
"A pilot needs enough pre-warning to set his approach speed as it depends on wind and gust value," he added.
METAR reports are issued by the Indian Meteorological Department every 30 minutes. If a change in weather condition is expected to take place within this 30 minute gap, then another report called SPECI is sent to the pilots giving details about the change. If the report ends with `NOSIG', as was the case on Monday morning, it means there will be no significant change over the next hour or so. Officials from IMD were not available for comment.
"If the weather is different than what is reported, the pilot can be taken by surprise. That is what seems to have happened," said Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an air safety expert. "Incorrect runway information has been the cause of several accidents in wet conditions worldwide."
Courtesy TOI:
The pilots would have gone through the 3am and 3.30am METAR reports. The 3.30am and 4am METAR reports for Cochin airport were not available on the government website and it is also not known whether these reports were transmitted to the pilots. But the METAR reports for 3am and 4.30am - that is the report issued about an hour before the accident and one issued 35 minutes after the accident - showed good weather.
The 3am report indicates 5 knot winds - acceptable for the size of an A320 - and speaks of clouds at 1000 feet and 800 feet. It ends by saying there will be no significant change in weather in the next hour or so. Similarly, the 4.30am report indicates no surface wind and few clouds, though it says that the sky will be overcast at 800 feet.
"The pilot said that he was suddenly assailed by strong winds and gust of rain after he descended below decision height," said Director General of Civil Aviation Bharat Bhushan. "But the inquiry is still on. So we need to see what the real conditions were," he added.
( No METAR how will you know the real conditions now??)"The 3am and 4.30am METAR reports are very misleading," said a senior commander. The pilots would have used the 3am METAR report to plan their landing. "There is nothing adverse reported in this report. It gave pilots an idea that the weather is fine, which was not the case" he added.
"A pilot needs enough pre-warning to set his approach speed as it depends on wind and gust value," he added.
METAR reports are issued by the Indian Meteorological Department every 30 minutes. If a change in weather condition is expected to take place within this 30 minute gap, then another report called SPECI is sent to the pilots giving details about the change. If the report ends with `NOSIG', as was the case on Monday morning, it means there will be no significant change over the next hour or so. Officials from IMD were not available for comment.
"If the weather is different than what is reported, the pilot can be taken by surprise. That is what seems to have happened," said Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an air safety expert. "Incorrect runway information has been the cause of several accidents in wet conditions worldwide."
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Could they have taken the METAR off the website? The most unbelievable thing is that the TOI actually had a good well researched aviation article written for once. I was expecting something along the lines of: "All 4 of the 320s engines were working fine"
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VIDP TO VOTV ,VABB TO VECC:from June to October ..tempo 1500m SHRA, and if it is cloudy...make it 800m in TSRA/SHRA..and if its raining please read 500m in+TSRA/SHRA...jokers.
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Go Around
Why did the pilot not do a Go Around? It has been said that when he came to the DH of 352', he lost visibility of the runway.But why did he still continue with the landing? The elevation of the aerodrome is 30'. So he had the chance to do a clean go around.
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lets not speculate niksmathew, lots of things have been "said", put yourself in his shoes for a minute, and let the facts come out....
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Local Media Reports
This is what the local media had to say this morning:
Gulf Daily News » Local News » Skills of Gulf Air pilots and crew help avert tragedy
Gulf Daily News » Local News » Pilots hailed for averting tragedy
Gulf Daily News » Local News » Skills of Gulf Air pilots and crew help avert tragedy
Gulf Daily News » Local News » Pilots hailed for averting tragedy
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Many of these places are just plain dangerous. They have unhelpful, sometimes obstructive ATC., with basic facilities, weather reports that have no resemblance to what is actually going on, runway surface conditions that are awful and the people in the tower are only interested in the aircraft registration and the number of peeps through security.
If it were not for the professionalism of the crew from the ME carriers who operate in and out of these places there would be many more incidents.
Unfortunately, all the Indian destinations are too important to the ME economies for what can be best described as modern day slave routes.
If it were not for the professionalism of the crew from the ME carriers who operate in and out of these places there would be many more incidents.
Unfortunately, all the Indian destinations are too important to the ME economies for what can be best described as modern day slave routes.
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An example of a complete safety system...
As ever, it's good to see that after a thorough investigation. After looking at all the facts, downloading the QAR/CVR/FDR, interviewing the crew, measuring the site etc. that the DCGA have nailed the root cause. All that in two days! So all that remains is a jail sentence for the crew and the whole problem is solved.
"We've got the guilty parties, jailed them and also fined the airline to prevent re-occurance." said some monkey at the DGCA.
Incredulous India.
"We've got the guilty parties, jailed them and also fined the airline to prevent re-occurance." said some monkey at the DGCA.
Incredulous India.
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Air India - Yet Another Mishap averted at Kochi airport
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The pilot calculated his takeoff speed and input weight as 54 tons. Major . Both Pilots, derostered by the DGCA. Prelim report says , callous attitude by the pilot inputting incorrect weight'. Cabin crew reported hissing noise in the cabin. Report also says that the aircraft to be checked by Boeing before use again. Aircraft flying now, currently in Sharjah.
Well at least this clearly non-airworthy craft has to be checked by Boeing before it's used again... well, once it's finished flying to Sharjah and back that is...
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Perhaps the DFDR and the DCVR will shead a more accurate pitcure of what occurred rather than the Time of India... the rag that prints all the news that's unfit to print?
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Damn , why do our 737-800s not have fuel jettison too ? those Indians have all the fun.
Mind you , if he had entered 54 tonnes in the FMC , he would have thought it was light enough to land . How they burnt enough fuel in 90 minutes to get down to MLW is beyond me .oh wait , they have fuel jettison ............
Mind you , if he had entered 54 tonnes in the FMC , he would have thought it was light enough to land . How they burnt enough fuel in 90 minutes to get down to MLW is beyond me .oh wait , they have fuel jettison ............
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Gulf Daily News » Local News » Skills of Gulf Air pilots and crew help avert tragedy
Gulf Daily News » Local News » Pilots hailed for averting tragedy
Read the articles. Nothing in them about actions the pilots took that averted tragedy.
Fancy headline but no meat in the article.
Gulf Daily News » Local News » Pilots hailed for averting tragedy
Read the articles. Nothing in them about actions the pilots took that averted tragedy.
Fancy headline but no meat in the article.
Last edited by misd-agin; 2nd Sep 2011 at 02:29. Reason: spelling