Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 1 September 1957
Aircraft Type: Handley Page HP.81 Hermes IVA
Owner/operator: Airwork
Registration Number: G-AKFP
Location: Calcutta-Dum Dum Airport (CCU) – ÿ India
Phase of Flight: Landing
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 64
Component Affected: Radar-assisted approach to runway 01LRadar-assisted approach to runway 01L
Category: Accident
An Airwork Hermes G-AKFP experienced a near-miss landing following a radar-assisted approach to runway 01L in Calcutta, India, due to a critical error in the Commander?s turn-down of the Right-to-Turn (R/T) maneuver. The aircraft, approaching the runway, was misidentified as approaching runway 01L, leading to an overshoot. Subsequent radar guidance and visual landing maneuvers resulted in the aircraft striking a DC-3, causing significant damage.An Airwork Hermes G-AKFP experienced a near-miss landing following a radar-assisted approach to runway 01L in Calcutta, India, due to a critical error in the Commander?s turn-down of the Right-to-Turn (R/T) maneuver. The aircraft, approaching the runway, was misidentified as approaching runway 01L, leading to an overshoot. Subsequent radar guidance and visual landing maneuvers resulted in the aircraft striking a DC-3, causing significant damage.

Description

Airwork Hermes G-AKFP was on a flight from Blackbushe to Singapore with intermediate stops at Karachi, Delhi, and Calcutta. Approaching Calcutta, the Hermes was cleared for a runway 19L ILS approach 04:41. At break-off height shower passed and the crew were not able to see the runway; an overshoot was carried out. At 05:01 ATC offered the captain a radar assisted approach to runway 01R; he was no. 2 to land at that moment. Radar Control then guided the aircraft and cleared it for a visual landing at 05:29. At that moment the aircraft was one mile from the threshold and to the left of the runway 01R centreline. After breaking through clouds the captain observed the runway. R/T was turned down and the captain continued visually. In fact the Hermes was approaching runway 01L. An Indian Airlines DC-3 has just been cleared to line up and hold on runway 01L. On landing, the Hermes struck the DC-3. PROBABLE CAUSE: “An error on the part of the Commander of the Hermes aircraft in turning down the R/T during the final stage of the radar assisted approach and in deciding to continue the approach under conditions which did not enable him to identify positively the correct runway.”

Primary Cause

A critical error in the Commander?s turn-down of the R/T maneuver, resulting in misidentification of the runway and subsequent overshoot.A critical error in the Commander?s turn-down of the R/T maneuver, resulting in misidentification of the runway and subsequent overshoot.

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