What happened
On January 5, 2014, an Air India Airbus A-320, registration VT-ESH, was operating a scheduled flight from Guwahati to Delhi with a planned diversion to Jaipur. While the flight was initially intended for Delhi, heavy congestion and visibility dropping below landing minima forced the crew to consider alternatives.
As the aircraft approached Jaipur, the weather was deteriorating rapidly. The crew, facing low fuel levels, decided to proceed with an approach at Jaipur despite being informed by Air Traffic Control that visibility was dropping toward 400 meters. During the landing phase, the aircraft experienced significant lateral deviations. The left main landing gear touched down on the soft, unpaved ground (kutcha) approximately 1000 meters past the runway threshold. The aircraft skidded left, causing the left wing to strike trees, resulting in substantial damage (hull loss) to the airframe. There were no fatalities among the 173 passengers and 6 crew members on board.
The investigation
AAIB India's investigation examined the flight planning, meteorological updates, and the crew's decision-making process. The inquiry scrutinized the role of the airline's dispatch department and the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Investigators analyzed flight data from the onboard recorders, including the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, to reconstruct the sequence of the landing. The investigation also looked into the communication between the flight crew, Air Traffic Control, and the airline's ground support regarding weather trends and fuel status.
Findings
- The flight crew made the erroneous decision to divert to and continue an approach at an airfield with rapidly reducing visibility.
- The crew attempted a manual landing in conditions that were below established minimums.
- There was a lack of effective operational supervision and ground support for the flight during the period of inclement weather.
- The aircraft was operating with critically low fuel, which pressured the crew to commit to the Jaipur approach rather than seeking further alternates.
- There was a failure in the airline's internal quality assurance to capture hazards related to flight following and weather monitoring.