Indian Airlines Flight 605
An Indian Airlines Airbus A320 similar to the one involved in the crash
|
|
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 14 February 1990 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error, automation |
| Site | Challaghatta Valley, near Bangalore Hindustan Airport |
| Passengers | 139 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 92 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 54 (22 serious) |
| Survivors | 54 |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A320-231 |
| Operator | Indian Airlines |
| Registration | VT-EPN |
| Flight origin | Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Bombay, India |
| Destination | Hindustan Airport, Bangalore, India |
Indian Airlines Flight 605 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight, flying from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in India's largest city of Bombay (present day Mumbai) to Hindustan Airport in Bangalore, the capital of Indian state of Karnataka. On 14 February 1990, the aircraft involved in the crash, an Airbus A320-231 registered in India as VT-EPN, crashed onto a golf course while on a landing attempt on Bangalore International Airport, killing 92 people.
Flight 605 was the eighth deadliest plane crash in India and was just behind Alitalia Flight 771. The crash caused the second hull loss and the second fatal accident involving an Airbus A320, after Air France Flight 296.
The crash was investigated by the Indian investigation team, and concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error during its approach. According to the report published by the Indian investigative team, the probable cause was ruled as the pilots' failure to advance the throttles, even after the radio altitude call-outs of "Four hundred", "Three hundred" and "Two hundred" feet, while the plane was in idle/open descent mode on short final approach. The report stated that the crew of Flight 605 wasn't aware of the situation and the danger they were facing at the time, and didn't respond immediately with the thrust lever that was on idle/open descent mode.
After the crash, the Indian investigation committee issued 62 recommendations to the Indian DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation), including a time recording on the ATC tapes and the forming of several investigative committee specializing on several aviation operational issues in its organization. Included in the recommendation were the addition of crash siren in Bangalore, evaluation of the evacuation door and slides in Airbuses , and design change on the instrument knob. The report also urged the government to evaluate every airport in India to prevent similar incident.
The crash drew criticism among the Indian Commercial Pilot Association as they claimed that the Airbus Industrie's Airbus A320 have flaws on their aircraft. They claimed that the aircraft's system were too confusing and that the crews of Flight 605 were struggling to avert the crash. Due to the crash, an inquiry was made in India discussing about the crash.
Flight 605 took off from Bombay Airport at 11:58 local time after an hour delay. Before the flight, the aircraft had been used for another flight on the day of the accident, operating as Flight 669 and Flight 670, flying from Bombay to Goa and then back to Bombay. The aircraft was an Airbus A320-231 registered in India as VT-EPN, carrying 139 passengers and 7 crew members, including 4 infants. The aircraft assigned route was on route W17 from Bombay to Belgaum via Karad and W56 from Belgaum to Bangalore. The take-off phase and en route phase were uneventful.
...
Wikipedia