Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895

Last updated

Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895
Itek Air Boeing 737-200 Naumenko.jpg
EX-009, the Boeing 737 involved, photographed four days before the accident
Accident
Date24 August 2008 (2008-08-24)
Summary Controlled flight into terrain during approach due to pilot error [1]
Site Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
43°4′42.2″N74°21′47.5″E / 43.078389°N 74.363194°E / 43.078389; 74.363194
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 737-219 Advanced
Operator Itek Air on behalf of Iran Aseman Airlines [2]
IATA flight No.EP6895
ICAO flight No.IRC6895
Registration EX-009
Flight origin Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Destination Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran, Iran
Occupants90
Passengers85
Crew5
Fatalities65
Injuries18
Survivors25

Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895, was a Boeing 737-200, registered as EX-009, operating a charter flight operated by Itek Air on behalf of Iran Aseman Airlines which crashed on 24 August 2008 (at 20:44 local time) near Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan while en route to Imam Khomeini International Airport, [3] [4] [5] Tehran, Iran. It crashed while returning to the airport of origin after experiencing technical difficulties. [2]

Contents

Accident

The aft section seen from the back Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895 wreckage.jpg
The aft section seen from the back
The same section seen from the front Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895 wreckage2.jpg
The same section seen from the front

Seven minutes after takeoff, the crew requested a return to Manas airport due to a "technical reason", when they saw an indication that one of the doors was not properly locked and the cabin was not pressurized as expected.

The ATC asked the crew whether they are going to perform a visual approach, and the crew confirmed they are requesting a visual approach.

Realizing that the speed and altitude was too high for landing, the pilot decided to execute a left 360 degree turn when they were 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from the airport.

While executing this turn, the pilot failed to monitor altitude and vertical speed and inadvertently descended, being unable to see the ground at night. The aircraft struck ground with its left wing and crashed. [2]

The United States Air Force sent ambulances and fire apparatus with firefighters and medical personnel from its base at the airport in response to a request for assistance. [6]

There were 90 people on board (85 passengers and 5 crew) of whom 65 died. [2] This makes it the deadliest aircraft accident to ever occur in Kyrgyzstan. [7] A total of 25 are reported to have survived. [8] The victims included ten members of a Bishkek high school sports team, Kyrgyzstan National U18 Basketball Team. [8]

Investigation

The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) attempted to retrieve data from the flight-data and cockpit voice-recorders, which were badly damaged in the fire which destroyed most of the aircraft. While disassembling the casing, both the mechanisms of the tape recorder and the tape media in the voice recorder were found in damaged condition, but the MAK attempted to read the data from the damaged media. The 320 mm (12.6 in) of the FDR tape was damaged by fire. This resulted in 13 seconds of missing data. The recorded audio on the CVR was of a prior flight (Flight 632). It was then determined that the CVR was not working properly on flight 6895. [9]

The MAK has released its final report. [1] According to the report, the forward left cabin door was not closed completely, most likely due to a jammed seal. The MAK stated that this did not contribute to the accident. It further stated that lack of pressurization did not require an urgent landing using a visual approach, and therefore pilots should have used an instrument approach.

During the visual approach, the crew realized they were too fast and too high to land, and therefore decided to make a 360 degree orbit to reduce their speed and altitude before landing. The decision to make the turn was made at 3.3 nautical miles (3.8 mi; 6.1 km) away from the airport reference point.

While executing that turn, the pilot flying descended below the minimum maneuvering altitude, failed to maintain visual contact with the runway, failed to properly monitor altitude and ignored automated warnings about terrain proximity (TAWS).

The aircraft was in a 10 degree left turn, with landing gear down, flaps 15 and speed at 160 knots (300 km/h; 180 mph) when it impacted ground.

Conclusions

The MAK concluded that, despite holding proper licenses, "the analysis of the crew’s actual actions during the approach, their explanations and enquiries suggests that the crew was not properly trained for visual approaches".

The MAK also concluded that the aircraft was "reacting as expected to control inputs" and "the airframe, aircraft systems and engines as well as the avionics [...] were operative until the impact, except the cabin not pressurizing and the [cockpit voice recorder]".

MAK concluded that the cause of the crash was the crew allowing the altitude reduction of the aircraft at night to a height below the minimum height during a visual approach for an emergency landing at the airport of departure due to depressurization caused by a failed left front door seal, which led to the collision of the aircraft with the ground, the destruction of the aircraft structure followed by fire and death.

According to the report, the combination of the following factors contributed to the accident: [10]

Pilots

The captain and the first officer were sentenced to 5 years 2 months and 5 years respectively [12] in a penal colony. [13]

As of August 2011, both pilots were reported to be released. [14]

Aircraft information

The aircraft involved was first delivered on July 1, 1980, and had a total flight time of 60,014 hours, with 56,196 takeoff and landing cycles. [11] Its certificate of airworthiness, issued by the Kyrgyz DCA, was valid until May 15, 2009. [11]

Itek Air, along with all air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Kyrgyzstan, is included in a European Union list of banned airlines for safety concerns and is therefore not permitted to fly over the territory of the EU. In May 2008, EX-009 passed a full technical inspection. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faucett Perú Flight 251</span> 1996 aviation accident

Faucett Perú Flight 251 refers to a Boeing 737-200 that was operating a domestic scheduled Lima–Arequipa–Tacna passenger service and crashed on 29 February 1996, while completing the first leg, on approach to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport. All 123 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft lost their lives in the accident. It is the deadliest aviation accident that occurred on Peruvian soil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Airlines Flight 585</span> 1991 aviation accident in Colorado

United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All 25 people on board the 737 were killed on impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itek Air</span> Airline

Itek Air, Ltd was an airline based in Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air France Flight 296Q</span> Aviation accident at Habsheim Air Show

Air France Flight 296Q was a chartered flight of a new Airbus A320-111 operated by Air Charter International for Air France. On 26 June 1988, the plane crashed while making a low pass over Mulhouse–Habsheim Airfield as part of the Habsheim Air Show. Most of the crash sequence, which occurred in front of several thousand spectators, was caught on video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Air Lines Flight 553</span> 1972 aviation accident

United Air Lines Flight 553 was a scheduled flight from Washington National Airport to Omaha, Nebraska, via Chicago Midway International Airport. On December 8, 1972, the Boeing 737-222 serving the flight, City of Lincoln, registration N9031U, crashed while approaching Midway Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manas International Airport</span> Airport in Sokuluk District, Kyrgyzstan

Manas International Airport is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan, located 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-northwest of the capital, Bishkek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Algérie Flight 702P</span> 1994 air crash in England

Air Algérie Flight 702P, named Oasis and registered 7T-VEE, was a Boeing 737 owned by Air Algérie and leased by Phoenix Aviation. On 21 December 1994, in low visibility conditions, it collided with power transmission cables and a pylon during its final approach to Coventry Airport in the United Kingdom. The aircraft subsequently overturned and damaged several houses before crashing inverted into a wooded area beyond. All five people on board were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asiana Airlines Flight 733</span> 1993 plane crash in South Korea

Asiana Airlines Flight 733 was a domestic Asiana Airlines passenger flight from Seoul-Gimpo International Airport to Mokpo Airport, South Korea. The Boeing 737 crashed on July 26, 1993, in the Hwawon area of Haenam County, South Jeolla Province. The cause of the accident was determined to be pilot error leading to controlled flight into terrain. 68 of the 116 passengers and crew on board were killed. The crash resulted in the first hull loss of a 737-500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 257</span> 1991 Aircraft crash

Indian Airlines Flight 257 was an Indian Airlines domestic passenger flight operating on the Calcutta–Imphal–Dimapur route. On 16 August 1991, the Boeing 737-2A8 registered VT-EFL crashed into the hilly terrain of Thangjing Hill during its descent, killing all 63 passengers and 6 crew members on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot Flight 821</span> 2008 Boeing 737-500 crash in Russia

Aeroflot Flight 821 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Aeroflot-Nord in a service agreement with Aeroflot and as its subsidiary. On 14 September 2008, the aircraft operating the flight crashed on approach to Perm International Airport at 5:10 local time (UTC+06). All 82 passengers and six crew members were killed. Among the passengers who were killed was Russian Colonel General Gennady Troshev, an adviser to the President of Russia who had been the commander of the North Caucasus Military District during the Second Chechen War. A section of the Trans-Siberian Railway was damaged by the crash. Flight 821 is the deadliest accident involving a Boeing 737-500, surpassing the 1993 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 733, and was the second-deadliest aviation accident in 2008, behind Spanair Flight 5022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish Airlines Flight 634</span> 2003 aviation accident

Turkish Airlines Flight 634 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Istanbul Atatürk Airport to Diyarbakır Airport in southeastern Turkey. On 8 January 2003 at 20:19 EET, the aircraft operating the flight, a British Aerospace Avro RJ100, struck the ground on final approach approximately 900 metres (3,000 ft) short of the runway threshold during inclement weather conditions. In the following collision with a slope, a post-crash fire broke out, killing 75 of the 80 occupants, including the entire crew. This is the deadliest aviation accident to involve the BAe 146.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air India Express Flight 812</span> 2010 plane crash in India

Air India Express Flight 812 was a scheduled international flight from Dubai International Airport, Dubai to Mangalore International Airport, Mangalore. On 22 May 2010, the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operating the flight crashed on landing at Mangalore. The captain had continued an unstabilised approach, despite three calls from the first officer to initiate a "go-around", resulting in the aircraft overshooting the runway, falling down a hillside, and bursting into flames. Of the 166 passengers and crew on board, 158 were killed ; only eight survived. This was the first fatal accident involving Air India Express and, as of 2024, the deadliest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katekavia Flight 9357</span> 2010 aviation accident

Katekavia Flight 9357 was an Antonov An-24 regional aircraft on a domestic flight from Krasnoyarsk to Igarka in Russia that crashed on final approach in fog in the early hours of 3 August 2010, killing twelve out of the fifteen people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450</span> 1975 aviation accident

Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450, JP 450, was an international charter flight from Tivat in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Prague, Czechoslovakia which crashed in the Prague suburb of Suchdol on October 30, 1975, at 09:20 AM. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 with 115 passengers and 5 crew on board descended, under Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), below defined Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) during the final approach to Prague Ruzyně Airport RWY 25, entered a gorge above Vltava river, and was unable to outclimb the rising terrain. 75 of the 120 occupants died during the crash itself while 4 others died later in hospital. The accident remains the worst aviation disaster on the Czech Republic soil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363</span> November 2013 aircraft accident in Kazan, Russia

Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight, operated by Tatarstan Airlines on behalf of Ak Bars Aero, from Moscow to Kazan, Russia. On 17 November 2013, at 19:24 local time (UTC+4), the Boeing 737-500 crashed during an aborted landing at Kazan International Airport, killing all 44 passengers and 6 crew members on board, making it 2013's worst plane crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TransAsia Airways Flight 222</span> 2014 passenger plane crash in Huxi, Penghu, Taiwan

TransAsia Airways Flight 222 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by TransAsia Airways from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to Magong, Penghu Island. On 23 July 2014, the ATR 72-500 twin turboprop operating the route crashed into buildings during approach to land in bad weather at Magong Airport. Among the 58 people on board, only 10 survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish Airlines Flight 6491</span> 2017 Cargo airliner crash in Kyrgyzstan

Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 was a scheduled international cargo flight operated by ACT Airlines on behalf of Turkish Cargo, from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. On 16 January 2017, the Boeing 747-400F flying the route crashed in a residential area while attempting to land in thick fog at Manas International Airport, Bishkek. A total of 39 people – all four crew members on board and 35 residents on the ground – were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704</span> 2018 aviation accident in Iran

Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 was a scheduled Iranian domestic passenger flight from Iranian capital Tehran Mehrabad International Airport to Yasuj in southwest Iran. On 18 February 2018, during its approach to Yasuj, the aircraft serving the flight, an ATR 72-212 operated by Iran Aseman Airlines, crashed into Mount Dena in the Zagros Mountains near Noqol village in Semirom county, Isfahan Province. All 66 people on board, including 60 passengers and 6 crew members, were killed.

References

  1. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "ASN Aseman Airlines Flights 6875". 24 August 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  3. تعداد مسافران ايراني هواپيماي سانحه ديده قرقيزي 52 نفر اعلام شد (in Persian). IRNA. 25 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  4. شهروندان ایران در سانحه هوایی قرقیزستان (in Persian). BBC Persian. 25 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  5. اخبار سوانح هوانوردی (in Persian). asemansafety.ir. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  6. Namatbayeva, Tolkun (25 August 2008). "At least 68 dead in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 737 air crash". Agence France-Presse via Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2008.
  7. "ASN Aviation Safety Database". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  8. 1 2 Saralayeva, Leila (25 August 2008). "68 die, 22 survive airliner crash in Kyrgyzstan". Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  9. "INTERSTATE AVIATION COMMITTEE COMMISSION FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF AVIATION ACCIDENTS FINAL REPORT ON RESULTS OF AVIATION ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION" (PDF) (in Russian). Retrieved 22 September 2021. As a result of the examination of the parametric recorder FDR 980-4100 GQUS it was found that a 320mm section of the carrier (magnetic tape) was exposed to high temperature. The information on this section cannot be restored. cannot be recovered. Based on the fact that the tape speed is 12.2 mm / sec, and given the location of the magnetic heads, there is no record of the last part of the flight. About 13 seconds is missing. Recorded audio information corresponds to the flight Moscow-Bishkek (flight IRC 632). It is impossible to establish the date of the flight. Information about of flight B737-200 EX-009 on 24.08.2008 is missing. This testifies to the fact that the CVR recorder in flight on 24.08.2008 was not operational.
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. 1 2 3 "Interstate Aviation Committee Air Accident Investigation Commission Final Report: EX-009" (PDF). Department for Civil Aviation, Kyrgyz Republic. 24 August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2021.
  12. "Крушение "Боинга-737" — 9 лет спустя после трагедии". kg.akipress.org.
  13. "News Channel - Homepage - flightglobal.com" . Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  14. "Осужденные пилоты разбившегося в 2008 году самолета находятся на свободе". knews.kgdate=24 August 2011. 24 August 2011.
  15. На борту упавшего в Киргизии "Боинга" находился 51 иностранец (in Russian). Lenta.Ru. 24 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.