iscover
The Bangalore crash was the second such A320 accident. In June 1988 an Air France A320 crashed at Habsheim, the pilot having left the aircraft in Open Descent Idle Mode until too low to recover.
Bangalore Airbus Accident Report
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Airbus Expects No Fault in Bangalore Crash
When Indian Airlines A320-231 VT-EPN crashed at Bangalore, India, on the 14th February this year, it sent shock waves not only through the airline industry, but through the Airbus organisation. The airliner was a new aircraft, having only been delivered on the 22nd December, 1989 and crashed during a relatively routine landing. Why?
Just why the Indian Airlines aircraft crashed at Bangalore during a routine landing on a clear day is still subject to Indian investigation. Although the investigating committee’s preliminary report was handed over to the Bangalore Judge at the end of March, no formal conclusions have officially been reached. Airbus Industrie, naturally enough, are very concerned about the crash and its causes so have followed the progress of investigations closely. The company has also carried out its own investigations using what facts are available. As a result, Airbus are confident that the A320 will not receive the blame for the Bangalore accident and, similarly, the training program implemented by AeroFormation (Airbus industries training arm) should not be found lacking. At its recent media technical briefing, the reasons for this were outlined.
The Bangalore accident occurred on 14th February in conditions that have been described as fine, and should not logically have caused any problems. Yet Indian Airlines Flight IC605, on final approach into Bangalore from Bombay, touched down heavily on a golf course approximately 700m from the runway threshold. The crew was not crash landing, which would have pointed clearly to a fault in the aircraft, but simply touched down far short of the runway, which strongly suggests crew error. The airliner – with 139 passengers and 7 crew – bounced heavily before passing through a clump of small trees, touched down again on a green where itimpacteda stone embankment forming the golf course perimeter, bounced over a small gully which tore off both engines, slew across a road and finally came to a stop close to the airport boundary. 92 people – including both pilots and two cabin crew – died as a result of the crash and the ensuing fire which totally destroyed the aircraft. Fire crews, who arrived some 20 minutes after the crash, could do nothing.
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