What happened
On May 24, 2016, a King Air C-90A, registration VT-EQO, was operating an air ambulance mission from Patna to New Delhi. While the flight was on its approach to runway 10, the left engine experienced a flameout, accompanied by a generator failure light on the annunciator panel. The crew attempted to restart the engine following standard checklists, but the engine failed to restart as the available Ng was only 30%.
As the aircraft continued on its base leg at approximately 3,000 feet, the right engine also lost power. Unable to reach the runway, the pilot identified an unobstructed open field near Kair village as a suitable landing site. During the forced landing, the aircraft's main landing gear struck the ground, and the plane subsequently impacted a three-foot-high road. The impact caused the nose landing gear to collapse and the aircraft to come to rest on its belly. Despite the substantial damage to the airframe, all five passengers and two crew members were evacuated without injury.
The investigation
The AAIB India investigation examined the aircraft's maintenance history, fuel planning, and the sequence of the engine failures. Investigators noted that the aircraft had recently been converted to a medevac configuration and had been stationary for several months prior to the accident. The inquiry also reviewed the crew's flight planning and the discrepancy between the fuel consumption figures provided in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) and the actual consumption experienced during the flight.
Findings
- The aircraft was flying 300 feet below its assigned altitude of FL100 at the time of the incident.
- The improper fuel planning was a significant factor, as the crew relied on POH performance data which did not account for the higher fuel burn of an aged aircraft.
- The actual fuel consumption was significantly higher than the crew's calculations due to factors such as strong headwinds and lower flight levels.
- There was an absence of organizational procedures to assess realistic fuel consumption rates for older aircraft or to perform in-flight fuel re-planning in the event of an engine failure.
- The pilot's communication to ATC regarding which specific engine had failed was inaccurate.