I do not know how the aircraft in question was operated, but during my years on the F70/100, no RNAV approaches were permitted. While the FMS showed the relevant approaches inserted in the database, we were never certified to use them.

A non-precision approach, if handled correctly, is not less safe than an ILS or the like and by itself no reason at all to crash an aircraft. There have been aircraft flown into the ground on an ILS as well, see the Alitalia DC-9 at LSZH in 1990 for example.

It will be interesting though to see whether the GPWS was serviceable and working on this flight.

The US intelligence report is somewhat confusing. Whilst is doesn’t state which crews ‘stopped’ training in Singapore, of the then Air Bagan fleet in March 2008 I can’t recall any applicable simulators being in Singapore!


The ATR crews used Bangkok then and still do. No idea where the F100 crews went then or go now.


I think it is also fair to state that Myanmar 2012 is quite different from Myanmar 2008.

Tr's aside, the rh engine looks as if it has shed a few blades at some stage. The tr damage could have happened at any stage.

Until the report is out, the obvious contender will be the low vis approach. Until the full facts emerge, we do neither the potentially skilled actions of the crew nor the memories of the deceased any service. Lets wait till they at least pull the tapes and put out a preliminary report?

This tells us something:

Air Bagan has said "the plane hit electrical cables about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Heho airport as it descended and landed in rice fields."

Looks like a perfect horizantal landing though. There's no mention of a missed approach or problems reported with visibility on the approach and with a servicable GPWS or basic satnav there should have been little trouble with the glide. However the RHS engine nozzle extension looks strange and the rudder seemed to have been compensating for this at the time of impact. We'll have to wait on flight recorder data publication.

@Tom Imrich: the aircraft wasn't GPS equipped. I'm not aware of any Fokker 100 with GPS.
DME/DME update is unavailable in the mountains of Burma. Hence no RNAV/RNP approach is possible there without GPS.

ZFT, the ex- KAL F100 simulator was briefly moved by Alteon to SIN before going, I believe, to Ansett flight training in Melbourne.

Really, thanks

Anyone have the METAR for the arrival time ?

Tom:

RNP AR, ah the bar is set so very high.

Then, even with that capibility the runway end has to qualify, which is not a simple deal. Look at the number of LPV approaches that have been denied in the U.S. because of GQS issues and/or lack of the requiste vertical surveys.

The state-certified vertically-guided approach simply won't fit everywhere, not even with Boeing's super state-of-the-art gizmos. And, oh what Boeing charges to apply all of this stuff to airplanes like an early 767/757. Think of having a fleet of 40 such airplanes and looking at Boeing's invoice. :)

Folks,
Where did it crash, in relation to the airport? It is not obvious from the reports I have seen so far.
There is a road with a alignment not far off RW 36, to the south of the 36 threshhold.
Tootle pip!!

They were lined up but too low and went through the trees along Highway 4, shearing off the wings:

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps37c1620e.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...psb29a7079.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps1bb044d1.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps57f1a139.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...psed2deece.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps8b0720de.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps6f6ea522.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps57b0ed32.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps27c7da5e.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps8db81341.jpg


http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...psaf1c8cc0.jpg

Quite few in Australia, some with ADSB. By Dec 2013, they'll all have ADSB unless they stay low.

Of course having GPS is one thing. Having the approach in the FMS database is another. As aterpster said, these things cost...

If it was XY-AGC, then it is an ex British Midland FK100 (G-BXWE). I pressume there will be some ex BMI drivers familiar with that particular aircraft?

I flew it in Myanmar as XY-AGC for airBagan in 2005, so go ahead with your question. (It had no GPS if that's it.)

There was a press conference today which had the senior flight attendant explaining what happened from her point if view.
She said there was no information given to them from the flight crew, they just noticed it was no normal touchdown and rushed to evacuate once the plane had come to a stop.
From what I understand she quickly moved herself to the overwing aero and opened some of the exits. At least one wouldn't open.
Passengers evacuated quickly and after that the junior flight attendant who was sitting in the back crawled through dense smoke to the front and reported to the captain (or senior attendant) that she saw no passenger on board. She received burns to her head on the way. The captain and this junior flight attendant left the plane by then and it started or was burning considerably by then.
The passenger who ceased did so because she fainted during impact and was left behind, the crew had no chance to notice her then in the smoke.
The senior flight attendant stressed that in her view the evacuation went pretty much as per procedure, and apologized for failing to rescue one passenger.

Machaca,
I assume this was to the south of the airport, and they were approaching 36, is this correct?
Tootle pip!!

The Fokker 100 invilved in this crash was XY-AGC.