Kerala plane tragedy: Did excess tailwind lead to crash?

Deepak Sathe

Kumar Akhilesh

Indicating that “poor judgement” by the pilots led to Friday’s Air India Express crash, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Chief Arun Kumar on Saturday said the Kozhikode International Airport runway was long enough for a safe landing.

The flight had landed at the 3,000-ft mark on the nearly 9,000-ft runway. It was also likely that the pilots switched off the engine to slow down the aircraft, Kumar told a private television channel, based on preliminary information from the crash site.

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An aviation safety consultant also hinted at a probable pilot error. He told DH that a decision to land the aircraft despite the tailwind exceeding the speed limit could have triggered the crash. The tailwind, which pushes it from behind, was in the range of 12 knots (22.22 kmph), exceeding the 10-knot limit.

Although both the pilots are now dead, the statements of two crew members (seated in the front) recovering at a Kozhikode hospital could be crucial. The digital flight data recorder (DFDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recovered from the crash site, were being brought to Delhi for examination.

Also Read | DGCA had issued notice to Kozhikode airport in July 2019 over critical safety lapses

The DGCA chief said the 18-minute exchange between the two pilots and the air traffic control (ATC), recorded between 7.28 pm and 7.41 pm would also be critical. The flight had hard-landed at 7.41 pm.

The pilots had aborted the first landing attempt from the east-west direction (Runway 28), and sought permission from the ATC for a second attempt in the reverse direction (Runway 10). It was not immediately clear whether the ATC had communicated the tailwind reading to the pilot.

Also Read | Why the tabletop Kozhikode runway amplified landing risk

But if the ATC had indeed communicated that the tailwind was 12 knots, why did the pilot go ahead with the second landing? A consultant said this could be attributed to a condition called ‘Press-on-itis’ in aviation terms, implying a decision to continue a planned destination even when significantly less risky alternatives exist.

Technically, the consultant said, the pilot should not have made another attempt. “But Press-on-itis could set in when he is tired.”

Visibility had dropped to near-zero due to the heavy downpour in the area, and attempting a landing on the tabletop runway carried high risks. The margin of error was extremely small, as the runway was less than 9,000 ft long and the landscape sloped to a valley 35 m below.

Also Read | Kozhikode plane crash: Pilot had aborted first attempt, reversed direction of landing in the second

DGCA has confirmed that the Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai had landed on Runway 10, overshot the runway and the safety area. Breaking the barrier, the aircraft crashed into the valley, breaking into two parts.

In June 2011, aviation safety consultant, Capt Mohan Ranganathan had submitted a report to the Civil Aviation Secretary highlighting the lack of adequate buffer zones at the end of the runway of Kozhikode airport. An Airports Authority of India (AAI) official informed that rectification steps were already completed
by 2019.

Preferring anonymity, an aviation expert said the pilot, Capt Deepak Sathe, was well experienced and familiar with the terrain. Thus, the chance of pilot error was very unlikely. Only a fair, in-depth probe could ascertain the exact cause, he felt.