Human error led to Patna aircrash, says report

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 31. ``Human error'' caused the crash of the Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 aircraft in Patna in July last, killing all 55 people on board and five on ground, according to the Court of Inquiry report submitted to the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Sharad Yadav, here today.

The report said the ageing Boeing aircraft was fully airworthy and properly maintained. There was no in-flight failure of any system. However, the Patna airport had several operational constraints resulting in erosion of safety margins for operations of Airbus 320/Boeing 737 type of aircraft. At the same time, the airport had no scope for expansion.

The Inquiry has recommended improvement in crew training procedures and reorganisation of the quality control set up of Alliance Air. It has suggested the removal of constraints for the operation of A-320/B-737 aircraft at the airport and the development of Air Force station, Bihta, as an alternative to the existing airport. The report was submitted to Mr. Yadav by Air Marshal P. Raj Kumar, who chaired the Inquiry, and Captain N.S. Mehta, and Mr. Shailhesh Desmukh, the assessors. Mr. S.N. Dwivedi, deputy director, Airworthiness, Directorate-General Civil Aviation, was the secretary.

The accident was caused by loss of control of the aircraft due to human error of the air crew. Without naming any one responsible, the report said the crew had not followed the correct approach procedure which resulted in the aircraft being high on approach. The engines had been kept at idle thrust and the air speed was allowed to be reduced to a lower than normally permissible value on approach.

The crew then manoeuvered the aircraft with high pitch attitude and executed rapid rolls reversals. This resulted in actuation of the stick shaker staff warning indicating an approaching staff. At this stage, the crew initiated a `Go Around' procedure instead of `Approach to Stall Recovery' procedure, resulting in an actual stall of the aircraft, loss of control and subsequent impact with the ground.

The flight had taken off from Kolkata at 6.50 a.m. and was on a scheduled route to Delhi via Patna and Lucknow. Two pilots, four air hostesses and 52 passengers were on board. The weather at Patna was clear with a visibility of four km.. About 30 seconds prior to the crash, the crew requested a 360 degrees turn due to being high on approach and were cleared by the Air Traffic Controller on duty. The aircraft stalled shortly after commencing the 360 degree turn and crashed in the Gardani Bagh residential area, killing five persons on ground. The aircraft was completely destroyed by the crash and caught fire.

The Ministry will constitute a high-level group headed by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation to take necessary follow up action. A copy of the report is being placed in the Parliament library.

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