Incident Overview

Description
An Antonov 24RV passenger plane was substantially damaged in a runway excursion accident at Blagoveshchensk Airport (BQS), Russia. All 41 on board survived the accident. Four passengers sustained serious injuries. The airplane operated on IrAero flight 103 from Irkutsk (IKT) to Chita (HTA), Blagoveshchensk (BQS) and Khabarovsk (KHV). The flight to Chita was uneventful and the airplane departed Chita at 11:11 and arrived near Blagoveshchensk about 14:00. The approach was carried out in conditions of reduced visibility , strong and heavy rainfall and strong atmospheric turbulence associated with thunderstorms. The airplane deviated to the right and touched down prematurely to the right of the runway 36 threshold. It collided with trees at a large vertical and forward speed. Probable cause (translated from Russian): The immediate cause of the accident without casualties with An-24RV RA-46561, during an ILS approach in weather conditions far below the meteorological conditions of the commander, the airfield and aircraft, as well as the presence of harmful (adverse) weather phenomena (thunderstorm, heavy rain, strong turbulence), was the failure of the crew to go around when they failed to observe landmarks while descending to a height well below decision height, as well as lack of appropriate response and action required after the triggering of the ground proximity warning system, which led to a collision with obstacles and aircraft ground in controlled flight (CFIT) and its destruction. Contributing factors were: – underestimation by the crew of meteorological conditions at the aerodrome of landing, expressed in making the wrong decision on the execution of the approach in terms of thunderstorm and torrential rain; – unsatisfactory flight meteorological services, providing information to the controller and later the crew on the actual visibility, cloud height, direction and strength of the wind at the airport, and the actual conditions that were significantly worse than the established minimum; – permission by the ATM to conduct an approach in the presence of dangerous (adverse) weather phenomena (storm, heavy rain storm); – inadequate manning, which led to the inclusion in the crew of the second pilot who carried out the first flight after a long break without passing the necessary preparation and training; – poor crew interaction and failure to use available instruments, in terms of informing the captain about reaching decision height, no decision by the captain to continue landing or go around and the failure of the second pilot actions to initiate the go around in these conditions.
Source of Information
http://www.mak.ru/russian/investigations/2011/an-24_ra-46561.htmlhttp://www.mak.ru/russian/investigations/2011/an-24_ra-46561.htmlPrimary Cause
Inadequate meteorological assessment and insufficient response to severe weather conditions, including thunderstorms, heavy rain, and strong turbulence, leading to a failure to observe landmarks and a disregard for established safety procedures.Inadequate meteorological assessment and insufficient response to severe weather conditions, including thunderstorms, heavy rain, and strong turbulence, leading to a failure to observe landmarks and a disregard for established safety procedures.Share on: