ATR72-600 Crash in Mekong River Near Pakse, Laos (RDPL-34233)

Accident Overview and Loss of Life An ATR72-600 operated by Lao Airlines crashed into the Mekong River approximately 8 km short of runway 15 at Pakse, Laos, after a second approach in bad weather. The aircraft was completely submerged. All 49 occupants, comprising 44 passengers and 5 crew members, died. Among the fatalities were 7 French citizens and 6 Australians. The aircraft had departed Vientiane at 1445 local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pakse one hour later. It had been built and delivered to Lao Airlines in March of that year. This was the first crash involving an ATR72-600 series aircraft and, at the time, the worst accident in Laos. ## Approach and Missed Approach The crew aborted a first approach to runway 15 due to insufficient visibility. During the circuit for a second approach in bad weather, the aircraft impacted terrain. Laotian authorities reported that under instrument meteorological conditions with no ground reference, standard operating procedures required an instrument approach. In Pakse, a VOR DME approach procedure was in force, with no radar service. The published procedure required the crew to fly to the initial approach fix or intermediate fix above 4,600 ft, descend to 2,300 ft until the final approach fix, and then descend to the published minima of 990 ft. If visual references were available and sufficient, the crew could continue to touchdown; otherwise, they could level off to the missed approach point and then execute the missed approach. ## Findings on Minima and Flight Path According to flight recorder data, the crew set 600 ft as the minima, contrary to the published 990 ft. Authorities noted that even if the crew had used an incorrect height published in the JEPPESEN chart at the time, the minima should have been set to 645 ft or above. The lower-than-published minima considerably reduced safety margins. Following the chart would have led the crew to fly on a parallel path 345 ft lower than the desired indicated altitude. ## Missed Approach Execution Recordings showed that the crew initiated a right turn according to the lateral missed approach trajectory but did not reach the vertical trajectory. The crew did not follow the vertical profile of the missed approach because the missed approach altitude was set at 600 ft and the aircraft system entered altitude capture mode. When the pilot flying realized the altitude was too close to the ground, the pilot over-reacted, resulting in a high pitch attitude of 33°. The aircraft was mostly flying in clouds during the final part of the flight.