India

Bombardier Q-400 aircraft VT-SUC belonging to M/s Spice jet Ltd. was involved in wild life strike accident during landing roll at Jabalpur while operating scheduled flight SG2458 from Mumbai to Jabalpur on 04.12.2015. The aircraft was under the command of pilot holding ATPL & duly qualified on type with First Officer also an ATPL holder and qualified on type. There were 49 passengers and 02 cabin crew on board the aircraft. The aircraft VT-SUC took-off from Mumbai for Jabalpur at around 1200 UTC. The enroute flight was uneventful. The aircraft came in contact with ATC Jabalpur at around 1323 UTC. The ATC reported prevailing weather at Jabalpur as surface winds calm, visibility 5000 meters, weather Haze, nonsignificant clouds, and temp 24° C. At 1342 UTC the pilot requested ATC for visual approach runway 06. The ATC cleared VT-SUC for visual approach runway 06 and asked to confirm when runway in sight. At 1347 UTC the pilot confirmed the runway in sight and requested for landing clearance and the same was acknowledged by ATC. The aircraft landed on runway 06 and about 05 to 06 seconds after touch down at around 1350 UTC the aircraft hit wild boars on the runway. The pilot stated that as it was dawn they did not see the wild boars on runway during approach, and saw the wild boars only after touch down and when they were very close to them, also they did not had adequate time to react so as to take any evasive action. Hence, one of the wild boars on runway impacted with LH main landing gear due which the LH Main landing gear got collapsed and the aircraft started drifting towards left. Thereafter LH engine propeller blades came in contact with ground and got sheared off. The aircraft dragged on its belly for around 182 feet and in the process the nose landing gear also collapsed. The aircraft then veered to the left of the center line and subsequently exited the runway onto the left side and came to final halt position in Soft Ground. The pilot then confirmed with first officer about fire and once getting assured that there was no fire gave evacuation call outs. The pilot then contacted ATC for assistance and informed that there were 10 to 11 pigs on the runway and the aircraft had hit the pig and gone off the runway. The Crash Fire Tender (CFT) team along with operational jeep reached the accident site. The pilot shut down the engines. All the passengers were then evacuated safely from the RH side. There was no injury to any of the occupants on board the aircraft and there was no fire.

The crew departed Chennai NAS at 1730LT on a maritime patrol flight along the Tamil Nadu coast and over the Palk Bay. The last radio contact was established at 2100LT and the last radar contact was observed at 2123LT while the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 9,000 feet some 176 km offshore. SAR operations were initiated and some debris were found the following morning. All three occupants, two pilots and one observer, were killed. On July 10, the wreckage was found at a depth of 995 metres some 30 km off Pichavaram.

The crew was completing a training sortie from the Dabolim-Hansa Naval Air Station, State of Goa, on behalf of the 310th Naval Air Squadron. While flying by night, the twin engine aircraft crashed in the Indian Ocean about 45 km southwest of Dabolim Airport. A pilot was rescued and both other occupants (a second pilot and an observer) were killed.

On 08.03.2015 M/s Spice Jet Ltd. Bombardier Q-400 aircraft VT-SUA, was operating a scheduled flight from Bangalore to Hubli under the command of ATPL license holder endorsed on type with duly qualified First Officer on type. There were 78 passengers and 4 crew members on board the aircraft. Previous to the accident flight, the aircraft VT-SUA had operated a flight Chennai – Bangalore with the same PIC. The flight was uneventful and there was no snag reported by the PIC on the completion of the flight. Subsequently the aircraft was scheduled for SG-1085, Bangalore - Hubli on 08.03.2015 at around 13:00 UTC. The aircraft took off from Bangalore at around 1300 UTC and the visibility reported for Hubli was 10 km. When the aircraft came in contact with Mangalore ATC, Mangalore ATC cleared aircraft direct to Hubli and informed heavy rains and thunder showers over Hubli with visibility 3000 m. Since the weather at Hubli had deteriorated, the PIC reduced aircraft speed for reassuring the flight parameters. As there is no refueling facility available at Hubli, the sector is a tankering sector hence the aircraft had enough fuel for holding. While approaching into Hubli the pilot requested latest weather from ATC Hubli. At around 60 nm from Hubli, the weather reported by ATC Hubli was heavy rain and visibility 4000 meters. The ATC cleared aircraft for NDB approach runway 26, however the PIC preferred to carry out VOR DME trial procedure for runway 26. The runway condition was neither asked by the cockpit crew nor intimated by the ATC. The descent was commenced and about 25 nm short of Hubli, ATC again advised visibility has reduced to 3000 m due heavy rain and thunderstorm. Thereafter the crew decided to hold over Hubli until the weather improves. 20 minutes into holding, the ATC again informed that visibility has improved to 4000m in moderate rain. Subsequently descent was requested by the pilot for runway 26. The PIC stated that he had established visual reference with runway at about 6 nm on the final approach course. The crew also selected vipers on short finals to have a better visibility. The aircraft landed normally. The PIC had stated that after touch down and reducing power to DISC, as he was concentrating on the far end of the runway as the runway was wet, he did not realize that the aircraft was drifting to the left of the center line. He further mentioned that he selected full reverse on both the engines to maintain the aircraft on the center line however the aircraft veered toward the left side of the runway and in the process overrun the runway edge light followed by LH landing gear collapsed. After the left landing gear collapsed the left propeller blades hit the runway surface and sheared off from the root attachment. The PIC maneuvered the aircraft however the nose wheel tyre failed under over load conditions and the nose landing gear collapsed and the aircraft belly came in contact with the runway surface. Subsequently, the aircraft exited the runway on the left side on Kutcha and came to the final stop at round 52 meters away from the runway center line. The cockpit crew switched off the engines and the electrical power supply and cockpit door and announced evacuation. The cabin crew opened and the cabin doors on the right for evacuation. The ATC had alerted the fire services and the fire vehicles reached the aircraft after it came to final halt position. The fire personnel also assisted in the safe evacuation of all the passengers from the RH side. There was no injury to any of the occupants on board the aircraft. There was no postaccident fire.

For unknown reason, the aircraft seems to be unstable on landing. Upon touchdown, the right wing hit the ground and was torn off. Out of control, the aircraft veered off runway, went through a grassy area and came to rest upside down, bursting into flames. All nine occupants escaped with minor injuries and the aircraft was destroyed.

The four engine aircraft departed Agra-Kheria Airport at 1000LT on a combined exercice with a second C-130, carrying five crew members. The goal of the mission was to simulate drops at low altitude. At a height of about 300 feet, the aircraft encountered wake turbulences from the preceding airplane. It is believed that the crew attempted to gain height when control was lost. The aircraft crashed in the rocky bed of a river near Karauli. The aircraft was destroyed and all five occupants were killed. Built in 2010 and delivered to IAF in April 2011, the aircraft was one of the six examples ordered by IAF.

On 25.03.2014, the operator received the travel programme for 27.3.2014, of Hon'ble Governor of Haryana from Chandigarh to Delhi. On 26.3.2014, the operations department took the flight clearances and filed the passenger manifest with the ATC and other concerned agencies. The flight plan was filed by a CPL holder, who is working as flight dispatcher with the Government of Haryana. The departure on 27.3.2014 was fixed at 1130 hrs. The cockpit crew reported at 1045 hrs for the flight. Pre flight medical examination including the breath analyzer test was carried out at 1100 hrs. The breath analyzer test for both the cockpit crew members was negative. Pre flight briefing among the crew members was carried out by using the documents prepared by the flight dispatcher. The aircraft was taxied under its own power from Haryana Government Hangar to bay no. D-2 in front of ATC building. No abnormality was observed or reported on the aircraft during this taxiing. The engines were shut down for passenger embarkation. As per the passenger manifest, in addition to the pilot and co-pilot there were 8 passengers. The baggage on board was approx. 50 lbs. There was 2100 lbs. of fuel on board. After boarding of the passengers, the aircraft engines were started at 1130 hrs. The aircraft was cleared for departure abeam „D‟ link. The aircraft was taxied out via taxiway „D‟. After ATC departure clearance the aircraft was lined up for take-off. On clearance from ATC the take off roll was initiated and all the parameters were found normal. As per the pilot just before getting airborne some stiffness was found in rudder control as is felt in yaw damper engagement. The aircraft then pulled slightly to the left which as per the Commander was controllable. As per the pilot, the rotation was initiated at 98 knots. As per the DATCO the aircraft had lifted up to 10-15 feet AGL. The Commander has stated that after lift-off, immediately the left rudder got locked in forward position resulting in the aircraft yawing and rolling to left. The pilots tried to control it with right bank but the aircraft could not be controlled. Within 3-4 seconds of getting airborne the aircraft impacted the ground in left bank attitude. The initial impact was on pucca (tar road) and the wing has taken the first impact loads with lower surface metallic surface rubbing and screeching on ground. After the aircraft came to final halt, the co-pilot opened the door and evacuation was carried out. There was no injury to any of the occupants. The engine conditions lever could not be brought back as these were stuck. The throttle and pitch levers were retarded. The fuel shut off valves were closed. Battery and avionics were put off. Friction lock nuts were found loose. As per the Commander, after ensuring safety of passengers he had gone to cockpit to confirm that all switches were „off‟. At that time he has loosened the friction lock nuts to bring back the condition lever and throttle lever. However even after loosening the nut it was not possible to bring back these levers. Fire fighting vehicles were activated by pressing crash bell and primary alarm. Hand held RT set was used to announce the crash. RCFF vehicles proceeded to the site via runway and reported all the 10 personnel are safe and out of the disabled aircraft. Water and complementary agents (foam and dry chemical powder) were used. After fire was extinguished, the Fire Fighting vehicles reported back at crash bay except one CFT which was held at crash site under instruction of COO. The aircraft was substantially damaged. There was no fire barring burning of small patch of grass due coming in contact with the hot surfaces and oil. There was no injury to any of the occupants. The accident occurred in day light conditions.

On 05.01.2014, Air India Ltd. Airbus A-320-231 aircraft was scheduled to operate flight AI-889 (Delhi – Guwahati – Imphal) and return flight, AI-890 (Imphal – Guwahati – Delhi). Air India dispatch section at Delhi, which has received the roster of flight crew for the flights, had prepared the operational and ATC flight plans by using FWz flight planning software and taking into account the weight & weather (forecast winds). Same set of flight crew and cabin crew was rostered to operate the four sectors mentioned above. The flight was under Command of an ATPL holder with another ATPL holder as First Officer (FO) and 04 Cabin Crew members. The Commander was CAT III qualified and the FO was CAT I qualified. The FWz plan was prepared for VT-ESL, but later on the aircraft was changed to VT-ESH. As per the pilot in command as both the aircraft have bogie gear type of landing gear and the performance factor is also same for these aircraft, he had accepted the FWz plan of VT-ESL. As per the manager flight dispatch on duty, only first leg i.e. Delhi Guwahati was dispatched. Required fuel figures were informed to the engineering & commercial departments. Pilots were briefed with folders which in addition to flight plans contained current NOTAMs and meteorological information. The relevant information in these documents was highlighted for briefing to the flight crew. For the remaining sectors which were self briefing sectors flight plan and NOTAMs were given to the flight crew. As per the pre flight briefing register, both the crew members have visited the flight dispatch section for briefing and at around 10:40 hrs. IST have signed the dispatch register. The sectors Delhi – Guwahati – Imphal – Guwahati were as per schedule and were uneventful. As per the flight sector report, the transit time at Guwahati prior to Guwahati-Delhi sector was 50 minutes. The aircraft landed at Guwahati from Imphal at 11:15 hrs. UTC and 12.7 tons of fuel was uplifted. The filed alternates for the sector were Lucknow and Jaipur in that order. METARs of Delhi, Lucknow and Jaipur were provided at Guwahati. There was no specific briefing. Flight crew has taken the weather updates of destination and alternates before departure from Guwahati. Lucknow visibility at that time was 2000 meters with temperature and dew point of 18°C & 13°C respectively. The weather at Delhi (11:05 UTC) was RVR as 500 meters for runway 29, general visibility of 150 meters, with both temperature and dew point of 12°C. A speci was issued at 1130 UTC for Jaipur with winds 04 kts. visibility 3000m and haze. There was no significant clouding (NSC), temperature (T) 18°C & dew point (Dp) 13°C, QNH 1013. Pre flight walk around inspection was carried out by the crew at Guwahati and the aircraft was released by an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer which was accepted by the Pilot-in-command. There was no snag or technical problem with the aircraft. There was no component or system released under Minimum Equipment List (MEL). For its last leg, the aircraft departed Guwahati for Delhi at 1205 UTC with 173 passengers on board. The fuel requirement from Guwahati to Delhi with 179 persons on board was 12.2 tonnes. As per the commander of flight, additional 500 kgs of fuel was taken (total on board was 12.7 tonnes) considering the time of arrival in Delhi was that of traffic congestion and because of weather in Delhi. As per the Operational Flight Plan (OFP), there was 10 minutes of arrival delay at the destination. The aircraft was flown on managed speeds. Initially the flight was cleared by ATC for a lower level and was later on cleared to fly at cruising level of 340. The fuel was checked visually on the Flight Management System (FMS) and Fuel Page which was further cross checked with the OFP planned figures by the crew on way points but was not recorded on the Operational Flight Plan. As per the crew, the fuel consumed was marginally higher than planned. The time taken to reach the way points was also noted, which was almost the same as planned figures were. Enroute, there was no briefing about traffic congestion over Delhi by any of the ground stations of AAI. The crew, on reaching overhead Lucknow, has taken Lucknow weather and when the aircraft was in range of ATIS Delhi, Delhi ATIS weather was also copied. The aircraft was not equipped with Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) but was provided with HF/VHF system. As per the flight crew no flight following was provided either by flight dispatch or the IOCC of Air India. Weather updates were not seeked by the crew from the flight dispatch nor were any updates provided by Flight dispatch to the aircraft during the flight except when crew had asked Delhi dispatch about Jaipur visibility before finally making the decision to divert to Jaipur. Flight crew did not seek any update of Delhi or Jaipur weather till the time the aircraft came in contact with Delhi ATC. While in contact with Delhi ATC, the flight was advised to join hold as Delhi visibility Runway 28 RVR had dropped to the lower end of CAT I operations at this point runway 29 was below minima. AI 890 was number 12 in sequence and continued to remain in the holding pattern for the next 20-25 minutes. During this period there was no attempt on the part of flight crew to seek Lucknow weather. Air India Flight dispatch has also not given any advice to the flight about Jaipur or Lucknow weather. The weather (visibility / RVR) reported on Runway 29 was below CAT I conditions so runway was not available for this flight at that moment as the First Officer was only Cat I qualified. As per commander of the flight, they did 03 holds each of 1.5 minutes leg and flew headings 360° and 180° before intercepting the localizer Runway 28 at 35 miles. RVR runway 28 also dropped below Cat. I minimas, therefore the crew discontinued approach and climbed to 8000 feet on runway heading before going on heading 180. As per the Commander, though the 1st planned diversion alternate was Lucknow which had visibility of 2000 m i.e. above minima, but change of diversion to Jaipur was made as after missed approach they were closer to Jaipur and they had inquired about the visibility from Dispatch for Jaipur, which was provided as 2000 m. At this stage the crew did not check complete weather of Jaipur. Minimum diversion fuel to Jaipur was 2.9 tonnes as per FWz CFP. AI-890 commenced diversion to Jaipur with ―Fuel on Board‖ of 3.1 tonnes. As per the Station Manager of Air India at Jaipur Airport, he received a call from their Executive Director, Northern Region at around 2040 hrs. IST on 05.01.2014 that due to Delhi weather, AI 890 had diverted to Jaipur. He then conveyed the same to the airport office and the concerned engineer. The aircraft came in contact with Jaipur for the first time when it was at 68 DME from Jaipur. At that time the crew came to know of the complete weather of Jaipur from ATIS as visibility of 900 m, Dew Point as 13°C, temperature as 13°C, and RVR of 1000m. At 60 miles and passing flight level 138, the crew intimated Jaipur that the aircraft is descending for flight level 100 as cleared by Delhi control, which was acknowledged by Jaipur ATC. The aircraft again informed Jaipur ATC its position at 55 miles, 50 miles and 42 miles from Jaipur which were also acknowledged by Jaipur ATC. During these contacts, weather of Jaipur was neither asked by the crew nor provided by the ATC. When the aircraft was at flight level 83, the crew asked ATC Jaipur to confirm that they can carry out ILS approach for runway 27 via 10 DME arc. While confirming the requested approach, Jaipur ATC has informed all the stations about the weather at that moment as visibility 400 m and RVR 1000 m. When the aircraft was at 30 miles from Jaipur, Jaipur ATC passed weather as visibility 400 m, RVR 1000 m and trend visibility becoming 350 m. The crew was asked to come overhead by Jaipur ATC. At 28 DME from Jaipur, the aircraft was maintaining 6000 feet and on request was cleared by Jaipur ATC to descend to 5000 feet. When the aircraft was at 25 DME, from Jaipur, ATC advised that the weather was deteriorating rapidly and visibility was 400 meters. The crew however intimated the ATC that they were committed to land at Jaipur due fuel. As per the crew the fuel on board at that point of time was 2.6 tonnes (approx.) and approach was commenced for Jaipur with a visibility of 500 m with trend reducing. The aircraft was no. 2 in approach at Jaipur and was cleared for VORDME arc ILS approach runway 27 at 25 nm. Crew had, as per them, checked Ahmedabad distance as 291 nm, with a fuel calculation of 2.7 tonnes and as sufficient fuel was not available for Ahmedabad so did not consider diverting to Ahmedabad at that moment. Crew has also stated that Udaipur watch hours were not available with them, Jodhpur is an Air Force field with restrictions and Delhi was packed so they continued approach to Jaipur knowing that visibility / RVR was rapidly deteriorating. Due to reducing visibility, Jaipur ATC asked all the aircraft inbound for Jaipur to come over head and join JJP hold. The crew of the subject flight asked for the weather which was provided as visibility 400 m & RVR 1000 m though RVR deteriorating to 550 m. The flight from the ―Arrival Route‖ flew the VORDME arc for ILS runway 27. The ATC had transmitted the RVR as 200 m and visibility as 50 m with trend reducing. Another scheduled flight ahead of AI-890 carried out a missed approach and diverted to Ahmedabad. When the aircraft was above MDA (1480 feet AGL), ATC reported RVR 50 m and cleared the aircraft to land subject to minima. Both the flight crew maintained that they had seen the runway lights. ILS approach was performed with dual AP until 200ft RALT. After descending below MDA on auto pilot, the commander disconnected the auto pilot. Captain performed the final approach manually. The aircraft deviated to the left of the runway centre line and touched down on soft ground (in kutcha) on the LH side of the runway. During touchdown and landing roll, the visibility was zero and crew were unable to see any of the reference cues. The crew had heard rumbling sound during landing roll. As per the commander, he did the manual landing as he was not sure if he could do auto-land on a ground facility which is CAT I certified airfield in actual zero visibility. The aircraft continued to roll/ skid on the unpaved surface and during this period the left wing impacted trees causing damage to the left wing. Thereafter aircraft turned right and entered the runway finally coming to a halt on the LH side of runway. There was no fire. ATC Jaipur informed the Airport Manager of the Airline at Jaipur that their flight AI-890 had blocked the runway and also requested them to send equipments / manpower to attend the aircraft and get the aircraft removed. The Station AME of the airline alongwith the Asst Officer (Comm.), who was at the tarmac were instructed by the Station Manager to move to the aircraft. As per the AME, the visibility was almost nil and they could not move without the help of ‗Follow Me‘ Jeep. The ATC was informed to arrange the jeep to escort the personnel upto the aircraft. The AME after reaching the aircraft observed that the no. 1 main wheel of the aircraft had decapped/ damaged and the port side wing was damaged. The fuel remaining on board was 2400 kgs. The disembarkation of passengers was carried out on the runway itself and passengers were sent to the terminal building. Since the aircraft was not in a position to be either taxied or towed to the parking bay, the baggage of passengers was offloaded at the runway itself and sent to the terminal. One passenger suffered minor bruise on the knuckle of his right hand middle finger. He was attended to by the cabin crew in the aircraft and also by the doctor at the airport. Medical check-up of all the crew members including breathanalyser (BA) test was done by the medical officer, M.I. room Jaipur airport. The BA test was negative for all the crew members with a reading of 00.00. Since the aircraft was obstructing the runway, the airport was shut down for any further flight operations till the runway could be cleared. A NOTAM was issued to this effect. The aircraft was towed the next day to parking bay no.5 at terminal-1 by 1200 hrs and was later repositioned on a non-operational remote bay.

The aircraft departed Lucknow Airport in the morning on a flight to New Delhi-Indira Gandhi Airport with a crew of three (two pilot and a cabin crew) and three passengers, among them Shivpal Yadav, Minister by the Uttar Pradesh Government. Following an uneventful flight, the crew completed the approach to runway 27. After touch down, the left main gear collapsed and the aircraft slid on runway for about one km when the right main gear collapsed as well. Out of control, the aircraft veered off runway to the right and came to rest in a grassy area. All six occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was completing a local training mission at Lohegaon Airport. On final approach to runway 28, the aircraft impacted ground, teared off several runway lights and came to rest. All three occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.