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14 February 1990 - Indian Airlines 605

Indian Airlines Flight 605 was a flight on 14 February 1990 that crashed on its final approach to Bangalore airport, killing 92 people.

The flight, IC-605, took off from Mumbai (Bombay) at 11:58 for a flight to Bangalore. At 12:25 Bangalore approach was contacted and prevailing weather at Bangalore was passed on to the crew. At 12:44, the Airbus A320 was cleared to descend to 11,000 feet and visual approach into runway 9 was cleared.

On final approach, the aircraft descended well below the normal approach profile and kept descending until it struck the boundaries of the Karnataka Golf Club, 2,300 feet (700 m) short and 200 feet (61 m) right of the runway. The aircraft rolled for 80 feet (24 m) and lifted off again for about 230 feet (70 m) and came down again on the 17th green of the golf course.

The landing gear wheels dug into the ground and the aircraft impacted a 12 feet (3.7 m) high embankment, causing the gears and engines to be sheared off. The aircraft continued over the embankment and came to rest in a grassy, marshy and rocky area.

The official verdict of the crash was the "Failure of the pilots to realize the gravity of the situation and respond immediately towards proper action of moving the throttles, even after the radio altitude call-outs of "Four hundred", "Three hundred" and "Two hundred" feet, in spite of knowing that the plane was in idle/open descent mode." However, there were aspersions cast on the then newly launched Airbus A320 and the complications of the aircraft coupled with lack of suitable training for pilots.


Transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)

ATC Air Traffic Control
CP Check Pilot
PF Pilot Flying
* Unidentifiable word or words
# Expletive
? Unsure of origin
[] Editorial insertion



1300:42 CP Runway in sight
    (Autopilot disconnect "cricket" sound three times)
1300:46 ATC Resume own navigation No. 1. Contact tower 123.5
1300:48 PF Flap 4
1300:51 CP 123.5, thank you, good day
  CP There she is.
  PF OK, landing checks
  CP Coming, changing to tower.
  PF OK
1301:08 CP Bangalore tower India 605, good morning.
1301:11 ATC Good morning, report short finals.
1301:13 CP Roger
1301:20 PF Landing checks completed?
  CP Negative, I will give you at 1,400 AGL.
1301:23 PF OK. (Coughing sound thrice.) I am sorry.
1301:36 CP Speed, alt star.
1301:40 CP Speed, alt star.
  PF OK, give me go around.
  CP Go around you want?
1301:48 PF 6,000.
  CP Or you want vertical speed.
1301:54 PF Vertical speed.
  CP How much?
1301:56 PF Thousand.
  CP Thousand.
1302:08 CP Tower, India 605, confirm cleared to land?
  PF Go around, 6,000.
1302:11 ATC 605, report short finals.
1302:13 CP We are short finals.
1302:17 ATC Roger, cleared to land.
1302:19 CP Cleared to land, 605.
  PF OK, landing checks.
1302:23 CP OK, landing gear is down, three greens, release signs are on, spoilers are armed, flaps are full, landing checks are complete.
1302:34 CP Crew at your stations for landing.
1302:42 PF OK, 700 feet rate of descent.
  CP Missed approach is ...
1302:49   (RA [radio altimeter] call out "four hundred").
1302:53 CP You are descending on idle open descend ha, all this time.
    (RA call out "three hundred").
1302:56 CP You want the flight directors off now?
302:57 PF Yes
  PF OK, I already put it off.
1303:00 CP But you did not put off mine.
1303:03   (RA call out "two hundred").
1303:07 CP You are on the autopilot still?
1303:09 PF No
  CP It's off.
1303:10 PF Hey, we are going down.
1303:11 CP O shit.
    (RA callout "one hundred").
  PF Captain.
1303:12 PF Captain still going.
1303:13   (Sink rate)
1303:14   (Chime)
1303:15   (Sink rate warning and RA call out "fifty").
1303:16   (Sind rate warning and RA call out "ten").
1303:17   (Crash sounds)

 

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