What happened
On the scheduled flight path from Mandalay through Myitkyina and Putao, an ATR 72 operated by Air Bagan departed Mandalay at 17:20, bound for Yangon. During the flight, weather conditions remained largely unremarkable, with the seat belt sign being activated only once during the leg to Yangon.
The first officer was operating the aircraft from departure until the final approach phase. At approximately 17:30, air traffic control reported visibility of 6km. As the aircraft approached Mingaladon Tower, the crew received clearance to land on runway 21, with a warning that the surface was wet. While the runway and lights were initially visible at the 250ft decision height, a sudden increase in rainfall caused visibility to deteriorate significantly as the plane descended to 50ft. At this point, the pilot took control of the aircraft.
During the landing sequence, the aircraft experienced a hard landing followed by a skid. The plane veered off the left side of the runway into a muddy area, eventually coming to a stop approximately 2800ft from the runway threshold and 75ft from the runway edge. There were no fatalities reported in this incident.
Findings
The investigation identified that the primary factor was the pilot's decision not to execute a go-around despite the aircraft becoming unstable during the landing phase in low visibility. Several contributing elements were noted, including intermittent loss of visibility of the runway centerline lights and heavy rain on a wet runway surface. Additionally, it was noted that the pilot in command assumed control of the aircraft only 14 seconds prior to the initial impact.