Incident Overview
An aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Aurangabad in deteriorating weather conditions. The commander sighted the runway late, and the aircraft descended rapidly, triggering the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) and an aural warning.
Sequence of Events
As the aircraft neared Aurangabad, weather conditions worsened. Air traffic control (ATC) at Aurangabad kept the pilot informed about surface wind and rain, and the pilot also observed adverse weather and reduced visibility. The commander saw the runway at a late stage. The aircraft then descended at a very high rate, activating the GPWS. After approaching close to the runway, the pilot attempted to increase engine power but found the power lever unable to move forward. The aircraft continued to sink rapidly and crashed in the undershoot area of Runway 27.
Damage and Injuries
The aircraft sustained substantial damage. No person on board suffered serious injury, and there was no fire.
Official Findings
The probable cause, as stated by the investigation, is that the commander, while landing during bad weather, descended at a very fast rate and subsequently could not arrest the sink rate while approaching the runway due to improper handling of engine controls. A contributory factor was the non-availability of deteriorating visibility conditions to the flight crew at the time of landing.