The Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 was a regular international scheduled flight which originated in Kabul, Afghanistan and was to go to the London Gatwick Airport with one stop at Kandahar and another stop at Istanbul then Frankfurt. Regrettably, the closing landing attempt on Gatwick on January 5, 1969 was disastrous as its landing errantly occurred just outside the airport resulting in the loss of lives of individuals both in the airplane and on land.
Flight Details and Crew Background
The aircraft involved was Boeing 727-113C whose registration was YA-FAR. This included a flight crew of Captain Rahim Nowroz, First Officer Abdul-Zaher Attayee, and Flight Engineer Mohammed Hussain Formuly. Although they have a lot of flying experience, their working hours on Boeing 727 were not too intense, considering that they mainly associated with flying of piston-engine aircraft.
Challenging Weather Conditions
When Flight 701 reached London Gatwick there were awful weather conditions. The freezing fog had visibility levels at between 50 and 500 meters with temperatures around -3degrees C. The better conditions at other airports, such as the Heathrow and Stansted could have been used, but the crew members decided to carry on with their landing at Gatwick, probably with the hope that the mist would reduce to enable a safe landing.
Critical Moments on Final Approach
At the last approach few crucial mistakes were made. The most striking is that the flight crew failed to configure the flaps correctly; they were set at 15 degrees, which is far lower than the ideal degree of configuration to land. This resulted in unsafe landing speeds and it was more difficult to describe the descent of the aircraft. Autopilot system was not able to keep the glide slope and the Boeing 727 started dropping against the recommended route.
As the crew became deeply focused on seeking runway lights through the hazy weather, their eyes were off the critical flight gauges. Before the first officer knew they had dangerously descended in altitude, some 400 feet above ground, there was nothing they could do to regain control. The captain tried to start a go-around which was not successful and the aircraft hit trees, crashed into a house and settled down after the catastrophic ground impact.
Consequences of the Crash
In the crash, 48 people among the 62 passengers and crew aboard, and two people on the ground were killed. Fourteen occupants of aircraft and one inhabitant of the house hit survived but with injuries and there was also a baby in the house.
Investigation Findings and Causes
Further inquiries laid the blame of the crash mainly to the pilots. The major findings were:
Conclusion
The above Ariana Airlines Flight 701 accident is a serious reminder lesson regarding the significance of strict crew discipline, adequate aircraft settings, as well as close adherence to instrument procedures during adverse weather conditions and when flying on newer aviation technologies.
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