What happened
On December 22, 2015, a Beechcraft Super King Air B-200, registration VT-BSA, operated by the Border Security Force (BSF) Air Wing, was involved in a fatal accident near IGI Airport, Delhi. The aircraft was performing a scheduled flight from Delhi to Ranchi, carrying eight passengers and four crew members.
After receiving takeoff clearance for runway 28, the aircraft climbed to approximately 400 feet. During this initial climb, the aircraft began a progressive left turn accompanied by a simultaneous loss of altitude. The aircraft completed a 180-degree turn before striking trees and the airport's perimeter wall. The impact forced the aircraft into a water treatment plant's holding tank. A post-impact fire destroyed the visible portions of the wreckage. All ten people on board—the flight crew and passengers—sustered fatal injuries.
The investigation
AAIB India's investigation examined the aircraft's maintenance history, crew qualifications, and organizational safety structures. The inquiry found that while the aircraft's airworthiness certificates and maintenance logs were valid, and no mechanical defects were pending, significant organizational deficiencies existed within the BSF Air Wing.
Investigators noted that the organization's Safety Management System (SMS) was largely non-functional, existing primarily as a paper exercise without real-world application. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the crew pairing practices were unsafe, as junior pilots were permitted to fly together without the supervision of senior, type-qualified pilots to gain qualitative experience.
Findings
Several contributing factors were identified leading to the crash:
- The primary cause was the engagement of the autopilot without selecting the heading mode immediately after liftoff, which, combined with poor visibility, led to an uncontrolled left bank and subsequent terrain impact.
- The aircraft was operating in foggy conditions with visibility below required minima.
- The aircraft was operating in an overloaded state.
- There was a lack of effective operational supervision and a failure to implement a functional Flight Safety Department.
- The organization lacked a robust system for monitoring and supervising flight operations at the ground level.