Gulf Air flight from Bahrain overshoots runway at Kochi (Cochin)

[Aviator_Prat]

Plane skids off runway in Kochi: TV reports | Gulf Air flight from Bahrain overshoots runway | 2 Passengers Injured

Times of India Report

[gottofly]

one report says aircraft deviated just before landing .now 7 injured with 1 being sent to hospital for broken bones.They say people jumped off the emergency exits in panic and that they didnt wait for ladders and hence the injuries.

[jackbauer]

The Hindu : Cities / Kochi : 7 injured as Gulf Air plane skids off runway at Kochi airport (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/article2408093.ece)

[sirwa69]

Now on BBC
BBC News - Gulf Air plane skids off runway in India (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14705719)

[iflytb20]

Gulf Air Flight accident in Cochin airport-Asianet News @ 0900 hrs Aug 29, Part 1.flv - YouTube
From a local news channel. There is a footage of the final position of the aircraft. It "appears" that the aircraft departed the runway to the right [while landing on R27] and stopped just before the taxiway C4 almost right opposite the fire station.

[weido_salt]

Have the crew sat the Indian Air Force medical examination? If not I would expect this to be relevant in the DGCA final report. :}

[AlphaZuluRomeo]

Reports said some passengers jumped down from the aircraft in panic through the emergency door even before the ladder was brought to the flight.
... Writing this next to a picture of the plane showing inflated slides, I'm sure a ladder was needed... :hmm:

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Looking at the decals aft of the wing, it was not Lewis driving it, was it? :E

[M609]

According to TV here in Norway, the slides did not initially deploy, and that injuries where sustained when passengers jumped from the aft exits.

Did someone not arm the slides......and that they manually deployed them after the fact? :confused: :confused:

[SLFguy]

... Writing this next to a picture of the plane showing inflated slides, I'm sure a ladder was needed...


Probably not as witty as you first thought...

[Airbubba]

As is the custom, the DGCA has leaked some preliminary findings:

‘Pilot error caused Gulf Air plane to skid off runway’

Ashwini Phadnis
New Delhi, Aug. 29:

Sources in the DGCA said that according to preliminary inquiries, pilot error was responsible for the Gulf Air plane skidding off the runway at the Kochi international airport on Monday.

Business Line : Industry & Economy / Logistics : (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article2408573.ece)

[A2QFI]

Why would employees of a non-Indian airline have to submit to an IAF medical? Are we talking about having the right to fly in Indian airspace or their medical condition after the incident? If the latter why not Indian Civil Aviation dept?

[bar none]

He was being ironic

[J.O.]

Someone should tell Gulf Air that the GP was cancelled. :ouch:

[Puritan]

BBC reports that this occurred at 22:25 Zulu.

METAR's covering that period:

VOCI 29 0000Z 260/03KT 4000 HZ FEW008 SCT015 OVC080 26/24 Q1008 TEMPO VIS 2000M RA
VOCI 28 2330Z 280/05KT 4000 HZ FEW006 SCT015 OVC080 26/24 Q1008 NOSIG
VOCI 28 2300Z 000/00KT 4000 HZ FEW005 SCT015 OVC080 26/24 Q1008 NOSIG
VOCI 28 2130Z 290/05KT 3000 HZ SCT010 SCT080 26/24 Q1008 NOSIG
VOCI 28 2100Z 040/04KT 3000 HZ SCT010 BKN080 26/24 Q1008 NOSIG

Whilst not prejudging any reason for this incident, it does appear that there's a 1hr30min gap in METAR reports (between 21:30Z and 23:00Z), this being at variance with what's required by 'ICAO / Annex 3 / Metrological Services For International Air Navigation (http://www.icao.int/icaonet/anx/info/annexes_booklet_en.pdf)' which states the following: "Aerodrome reports include surface wind, visibility, runway visual range, present weather, cloud, air and dew-point temperature and atmospheric pressure, and are issued either half-hourly or hourly.", always remembering that India is indeed a member of ICAO (http://www.icao.int/icao/en/members.htm).

In the BBC's report it is stated that "Officials said it was very windy and raining heavily at the time of the landing.". But this, however, would seem somewhat at odds with the METAR's listed above;... that is unless, within the 55 mins following the 21:30Z METAR, a thunderstorm had drifted in, but which was subsequently not reported by the local ATC (either directly, and / or seemingly definitely not within a METAR) ?!

[givemewings]

M609, since the slides take approx 4-6sec to deploy, it's possible (some) pax may have run past the crew (very possible if panicking) and jumped on a slide which was not fully deployed... having seen this happen in the hangar you would actually get quite a fall even with a partially inflated slide.

I wouldn't think the doors were disarmed at that point of flight (they shouldn't be for sure), more likely that the pax may have got a bit out of control... a very high possibility especially if many were not regular flyers.

[jackx123]

they call GF the airline of possibilities.........anything is possible :E

but the good thing they usually give two landings for the price of one even if you're not FF

[ironbutt57]

Metars and actual conditions actually encountered during ops in some of these destinations are often at odds with each other...

[sirwa69]

Gulf Air standard practice is to disarm the slides only when the chocks are applied. So they would definately have been armed at this point.

However to keep with the F1 analogy, perhaps he should have changed from slicks to full wets. :p

[Microburst2002]

The only pilot error here is landing in an indian airport thinking that they knew what the weather and runway conditions were because they had copied the ATIS.

Last time I asked if runway was contaminated with standing water, the irritated indian ATC answer was "it's raining..."

[spud]

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 !

[Herod]

..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.

[Aviator_Prat]

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. :confused: ( 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."

[Airmann]

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"

[spud]

'Like a cow loading a musket' - just an old saying that conjures up a picture of ineptly trying the impossible. Something too daft for words but put into words.

[willfly380]

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.

[niksmathew24]

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.

[ironbutt57]

lets not speculate niksmathew, lots of things have been "said", put yourself in his shoes for a minute, and let the facts come out....

[LazyLLz]

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 (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=312683)

Gulf Daily News » Local News » Pilots hailed for averting tragedy (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=312649)

[Paper Lad]

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.

[Piltdown Man]

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.

[estranged soul]

Yet another mishap was averted at Kochi- TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos (http://www.timesnow.tv/Yet-another-mishap-was-averted-at-Kochi/articleshow/4382667.cms)

[Mr Good Cat]

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.

Wow, that is a callous attitude to have... Unsympathetically typing away into the FMC with little sensitivity to the situation.:ouch:

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...:ooh:

[iflytb20]

I wonder where the media dream up the part about the aircraft flying to SHJ. It was flown to BOM for repairs in the morning.

[niksmathew24]

DGCA probe blames pilot for Kochi mishap - The Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/DGCA-probe-blames-pilot-for-Kochi-mishap/articleshow/9804235.cms)

[DouglasFlyer]

DGCA probe blames pilot for Kochi mishap - The Times of India


...Boeing 737-800 aircraft...

...aircraft also jettisoned fuel before landing... :rolleyes:

[captjns]

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?:}

[kotakota]

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 ............

[old-timer]

seems like a bit of a Coch(in) up - glad no one was too severely injured but it seems hard to believe they weren't given the hegiht of the fall from the doors.:confused:
:=

[misd-agin]

Gulf Daily News » Local News » Skills of Gulf Air pilots and crew help avert tragedy (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=312683)

Gulf Daily News » Local News » Pilots hailed for averting tragedy (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=312649)



Read the articles. Nothing in them about actions the pilots took that averted tragedy.

Fancy headline but no meat in the article.

[jackx123]

the fact that the crew was bahraini made gdn write an article about captain kirk and cmdr. spock how they saved the world :}

[RoyHudd]

Anybody know what r/w conditions and braking actions were? Too many a/d's on the subcontinent are slick with rubber deposits, which the local authorities never ever remove. Tricky fields at best, in India and neighbouring countries, IMHE.

[Viper2]

Well,

If the DGCA already has come to a conclusion after a few days, I am pretty sure that the report is not even worth the paper it is written on.

I do not have any personal experience but I have heard from reliable sources that the conditions in this airport can be quite challenging. It ended quite well, some minor injuries and an airplane damaged. Could have been much worse.

Let's wait and see what the investigators come up with.

[Dr Know]

Some one is smoking some thing!
Last time I checked, a 737-800 did not look like a A320 but you never know, Boeing might check it out after it flew to SHJ..:cool:

As for VOCI its alway 3000 in HZ regardless of what the Metar says, just ask the controller!:confused:

[goeasy]

I landed there the night before on a wet runway. The new high speed exit is too short unless you want to brake heavily. And this runway (like a lot in India) is not suitable for heavy braking unless really needed!

I have landed there a lot and NEVER use the high speed exit.

[jackx123]

i landed in kai tak many years ago during the monsoon and very heavy rain. no one seemed to have a problem at that time despite flying rather antique machinery.

[doubleu-anker]

If the runway is wet, I plan to use max reverse thrust and enough braking to suit the conditions. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

Don't try and reinvent the wheel as Qantas did at BKK IIRC.

[ironbutt57]

Jackx123....how many scary photos Kai Tek close shaves are available on the web???....:rolleyes:

And sometimes "antique" is better:ok:

[jackx123]

iron,

sorry for my irony but i guess what i was trying to say is that there were only 1 or 2 accidents in the last 30 years before closing that can be blamed on the monsoon/typhoon of which one of them was china air landing 2/3 down the road heading for a drink.

Interestingly BA refused to attempt an approach shortly before china air. It all comes down to good and bad judgement at the end of the day.

In any case there is no point rambling on about the past, but i still get that feeling when i look back and think of no. 13.

[Centaurus]

there were only 1 or 2 accidents in the last 30 years before closing that can be blamed on the monsoon/typhoon of which one of them was china air landing 2/3 down the road heading for a drink.

That accident cannot be blamed on bad weather. It was caused by a monumental cock-up by the captain who lacked pure flying skills and should have gone around. But the presence of other high rank Chinese captains on the flight deck didn't help.

[JammedStab]

India's Directorate of General Aviation (DGCA) released their final report concluding the probable cause of the accident was:

The Runway Excursion was caused due to an error of judgment of the PIC during which was due to loss of situational awareness during reduced visibility conditions.

The captain (35, ATPL, 7000 hours total, 1200 hours in command on type) was pilot flying, the first officer (37, 3000 hours total flying experience) was pilot monitoring.

The aircraft had been on an ILS approach to Cochin's runway 27 with the autopilot tracking localizer and glideslope, the aircraft was in full landing configuration and maintained a drift angle of 4 degrees. At about 670 feet AGL the autopilot was disconnected, the flight director kept in tracking the ILS. The aircraft descended through 500 feet AGL fully stabilized on localizer and on glideslope. Following descending through 200 feet AGL the aircraft began to increasingly roll right reaching 4 degrees of bank angle and drifted right of the localizer, the controls were crossed with the aircraft kept side slipping. The captain later reported that the downpour increased substantially decreasing visibility to about 2000 meters (however within pilot limitations). The first officer, pilot monitoring, continued to call out "Continue, localizer nice, profile nice and continue". After touchdown the pilot monitoring called "maintain center line", the DGAC commenting too late too little and not forceful with the captain obviously having lost awareness with respect of the position to the center line.

Tracks on the runway identified the left main gear touched down 459 meters past the runway threshold 12.8 meters to the right of the runway center line and the right main gear touched down about 21.5 meters right of the center line and 1.5 meters to the right of the right runway edge and went over a right hand runway edge light immediately thereafter before leaving the paved surface and rolling over soft ground. The left main wheels departed paved surface 570 meters past the runway threshold. The pilot applied left hand rudder however to no avail as the aircraft was already on soft surface with airspeed reducing. The aircraft came to a stop 1235 meters past the runway threshold and about 760 meters past touch down. All occupants were evacuated. Of the 144 occupants (138 passengers and 6 crew) one passenger received serious injuries (fracture of right ankle, fractures of 6 ribs and stitches in left elbow), 7 passengers were treated at the airport medical facilities.

The aircraft received substantial damage including a collapsed and sheared nose gear, skin damage and buckling, slush and mud inside the electronics compartment ventilation, main landing gear doors cracked, hydraulic and electrical lines at the main landing gear damaged, both engines' nose cowls torn, buckled and crushed, right hand engine fan blades shingled, slush and mud ingested by both engines. 5 runway edge lights were destroyed.

At 22:30Z, 5 minutes past touch down, the weather was observed as: winds at 10 knots from 040, moderate drizzle, visibility 4000 meters, scattered cloud at 800 feet, 26 degrees Celsius.

Six safety recommendations were released as result of the investigation.

[DaveReidUK]

Link to full report (June 2012):

http://dgca.gov.in/accident/reports/AC9-AG.pdf

[Piltdown Man]

Thanks David. That is what I call a "Fact Light" report and a gross, almost criminal departure from an Annex 13 layout. The nine pages of pointless facts were copy-paste from the AIP bloated by a list of bits broken when the aircraft went gardening. Useful stuff like the actual weather and the real braking action of the runway were alarmingly absent. The calibration data of the runway braking action measuring device might also have been an interesting inclusion. Also missing was crew recollection, evacuation data, a report on the serviceability at on the time of the incident of the runway edge lighting (centre-line lights were in the process of being installed) and the status of the RVR measuring equipment. And call me old fashioned, but isn't the noswheel connected to the rudder? Because that also appeared not to work.

The report then goes on to introduce new "facts" in the analysis and findings. This is not acceptable. At the very end, the recommendations are plucked from thin air. Nowhere in the report was a case made for their inclusion and therefore I can not see how implementing any of them will improve flight safety.

The writers of this report should be publicly drowned in a bucket. At 13 pages it is not even big enough to be used as a fire lighter but I suppose if it was printed on absorbent paper it might have other uses.

PM

[Sailvi767]

Thanks David. That is what I call a "Fact Light" report and a gross, almost criminal departure from an Annex 13 layout. The nine pages of pointless facts were copy-paste from the AIP bloated by a list of bits broken when the aircraft went gardening. Useful stuff like the actual weather and the real braking action of the runway were alarmingly absent. The calibration data of the runway braking action measuring device might also have been an interesting inclusion. Also missing was crew recollection, evacuation data, a report on the serviceability at on the time of the incident of the runway edge lighting (centre-line lights were in the process of being installed) and the status of the RVR measuring equipment. And call me old fashioned, but isn't the noswheel connected to the rudder? Because that also appeared not to work.

The report then goes on to introduce new "facts" in the analysis and findings. This is not acceptable. At the very end, the recommendations are plucked from thin air. Nowhere in the report was a case made for their inclusion and therefore I can not see how implementing any of them will improve flight safety.

The writers of this report should be publicly drowned in a bucket. At 13 pages it is not even big enough to be used as a fire lighter but I suppose if it was printed on absorbent paper it might have other uses.

PM

I thought the same thing. One of the worst accident reports I have ever read and I have seen some bad ones!