Armenian A320 crash whilst attempting to land in bad weather
 

BBC reporting Armenian airliner lost from radar.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4967464.stm

PP

BBC NEWS 24 said wreckage found:(

just on their website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4967464.stm updated from the above story

MSNBC is reporting that the downed aircraft is an Armenian Airlines A320 (as are the other news links). It appears to have crashed into the sea.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12601815/

"Poor weather is hampering the rescue".............:ugh:

rego of the aircraft is EK32009
ex Ansett VH-HYO
survival looks slim

Here's the latest from Reuters. Sorry I can't reduce the size via a URL since this is directly from my dealing screen.


06:36 03May2006 RTRS-UPDATE 3-Armenian jet crashes off Russia, 113 presumed dead

(Adds passengers presumed dead, relatives' comments)
By Oliver Bullough
MOSCOW, May 3 (Reuters) - An Armenian airliner crashed into the Black Sea off the Russian coast in heavy rain on Wednesday, and all 113 passengers and crew on board were presumed killed, the Russian emergencies ministry said.
The plane, an Airbus A-320, was trying to land at Sochi, a popular seaside holiday spot in southern Russia, in bad weather when it slammed into the sea.
A spokesman for the Russian emergencies ministry said rescue workers had found baggage, life jackets, body parts, pieces of the shattered plane and a patch of oil floating on the surface of the sea at the crash site.
At least 16 bodies had been found by 0425 GMT.
"According to preliminary information, all people on board are dead," a ministry spokeswoman said.
The plane had been making a short flight of about an hour from the Armenian capital Yerevan, and most of the passengers were Armenian nationals.
"The fragments were found six km (4 miles) from the shore near the airport of Adler. The search operation continues," ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said.
Stunned relatives sat quietly waiting for news at Adler airport just outside Sochi, a resort town that became popular with Russians in the Soviet era.
Relatives also gathered at the airport in Yerevan. A list of passengers showed 26 had Russian passports and almost all the rest were Armenians.
"I was waiting for a call from my mother that she had arrived okay. But she did not phone, so I phoned myself and heard that this accident had happened," Khapet Tadevosyan, 32, told Reuters as he stood in the Yerevan airport building.
"She flew to Sochi to see her sisters, whom she hadn't seen for 15 years," he said.
Beltsov said the plane, operated by Armavia, had vanished from radar screens at 2.15 a.m. (2215 GMT Tuesday) near Sochi, which lies close to the Georgian border.
An Armavia official said the aircraft had initially been refused permission to land because of the heavy rain. But then the airport officials changed their mind and said the landing could go ahead.
"The plane was in an ideal technical condition, the crew was well qualified," said Andrei Aghajanov, deputy commercial director of the airline.
The plane had failed at its first attempt to land, and crashed into the sea at a very steep angle on its second approach. Its fuselage was lying on the seabed.
"The rescue workers are searching for the black boxes (flight recorders)," Beltsov said. "The main parts of the plane are located at around 400 metres (yards) depth."
Armavia is the largest airline in the former Soviet Republic of Armenia and has three Airbus 320s of the kind that crashed.
The plane was carrying at least five children and eight crew members. Heavy rain and poor visibility were complicating the search, initially for survivors and later for clues to the cause of the crash.
(Additional reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan in Yerevan)
((Editing by Tim Pearce, [email protected], +7 095 775 1242, RM: [email protected]))

WX at the time:

C05
URSS 022300Z VRB01MPS 6000 -SHRA BR BKN005 OVC028CB 11/11 Q1017 TEMRO 1500 BR VV005 RMK QBB160 G/~Z QFE762 SC05
URSS 022200Z VRB01MPS 4000 -SHRA BR BKN006 OVC027CB 11/11 Q1018 TEMRO 1500 BR VV005 RMK G/?Z QFE762 SC05
URSS 022200Z VRB01MPS 4000 -SHRA BR BKN006 OVC027CB 11/11 Q1018 temro 1500 BR VV005 RMK g/~z QFE762 SC05
URSS 022200Z VRB01MPS 4000 -SHRA BR BKN006 OVC027CB 11/11 Q1018 TEMRO 1500 BR VV005 RMK G/~Z QFE762 SC05
URSS 022100Z 00000MPS 2000 -SHRA BR BKN005 OVC023CB 11/11 Q1018 NOSIG RMK g/~z QFE762 SC05

Rather weird that they report OVC CB but no TS.

Similarities to GF072 Crash Bahrein?
 

Sounds like a similar general scenario to GulfAir 072
.
PITCH-UP Illusion strikes again?
.
"The plane had failed at its first attempt to land, and crashed into the sea at a very steep angle on its second approach."

Slow down Unctious...

Thoughts
 

I wonder which type of approach was being performed....non-precision? And whether suitable alternates were within range? Fuel on board? Standard issues, no tentative conclusions. The weather didn't look too bright, that's for sure.

Very sad. Condolences to Armenian colleagues.

an important thing that would make the difference is if there was an ils available, at sochi airport in that condition would make the difference let's see ,they crash 4 miles out the rwy, so at that distance supposing an ils approach they schould be at more or less 1800 agl, my question; is possible that a microburst make the a320 lose that altitde in short final with the engine spooling fast in landing config, and since how long ago this company is operating an airbus fleet because to me this disaster smell of airbus mismatch for the pilots.
Condolences to all the affected

Armavia have been operating the A320 for 3.5 years now, since October 2002, and have five in their fleet, with one being leased out. Most, including the accident aircraft, are from the onetime Ansett operation. It's the principal type in their fleet.

Chief of Armenian CAA told to the media that there was 10t of fuel on departure which is more than enough for 1 hour sector. There are several suitable alternates in Russia, Georgia, Turkey, all within 30-60 min from Sochi.

URSS is usually classified at cat B or cat C airport (depending on airline), approach minima is quite high there.

From the current BBC news page

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4967464.stm

"The Russian prosecutor general's office announced it had launched criminal proceedings for violation of air traffic procedures leading to loss of life, according to the AFP news agency."

This does seem extraordinary, that within 12 hours of the ditching and with few facts available criminal proceedings are being started.

Latest just received from Airbus Industries

FROM : AIRBUS CUSTOMER SERVICES TOULOUSE TX530526F

TO : ALL
A300/A310/A300-600/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A318/A340-500/A340-6
00 OPERATORS

ACCIDENT INFORMATION TELEX - ACCIDENT INFORMATION TELEX

SUBJECT: ARMAVIA FLIGHT RNV 967 ACCIDENT IN SOCHI (RUSSIA)
OUR REF.: U8 967 AIT 1 DATED MAY 3, 2006

AIRBUS REGRETS TO CONFIRM THAT AN A320 AIRCRAFT OPERATED BY
ARMAVIA WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING
WHEN APPROACHING SOCHI AIRPORT AT THE RUSSIAN BLACK SEA COAST
UNDER REPORTED POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS.

AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATING ARMAVIA FLIGHT RNV 967 FROM EREVAN,
ARMENIA, TO SOCHI.

THE AIRCRAFT INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT, REGISTRATION NUMBER EK-
32009 BEARING MSN 547 WAS DELIVERED TO ARMANIA IN FEBRUARY 2004
AND HAD LOGGED OVER 28,200 FLIGHT HOURS AND 14,400 LANDINGS. IT
WAS POWERED BY CFM56-5A ENGINES.


ACCORDING TO AVAILABLE INFORMATION, THERE WERE 105 PASSENGERS
AND 8 CREW MEMBERS ON BOARD. AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE OF THIS
TELEX, THERE WERE UNCONFIRMED REPORTS OF 113 FATALITIES.

IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, AIRBUS HAS OFFERED FULL
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE INVESTIGATION AUTHORITIES. FOR THIS
PURPOSE, AIRBUS IS PRESENTLY DISPATCHING A TEAM OF 5 TECHNICAL
ADVISORS TO ASSIST THE AUTHORITIES.

FURTHER UPDATE WILL BE PROVIDED AS SOON AS RELIABLE INFORMATION
IS AVAILABLE AND NOT LATER THAN 05 MAY 06.

YANNICK MALINGE
VICE PRESIDENT FLIGHT SAFETY
AIRBUS

WHBM
I belive this is a standart practice in CIS countries.

There is not.

Has it been decommissioned or NOTAMed out? Used to be ILS on RWY 02 and 06.

Used to work with Armavia for 3 years. Lot of dearest friends lost. Beautiful place, sweet memories. Have absolutely no idea what it was and why it happened. Just made a phone call to Yerevan. Tears and sorrow are the only reply for the time being. My condolences.....

Sad Indeed