What happened
A chartered four-engine airplane operated by Garuda Indonesia Airways was transporting 249 pilgrims returning from Mecca to Surabaya. During the descent from FL330 to FL220, the flight crew requested to land on runway 22 after being notified that runway 04 was active. While performing a night approach at approximately 650 feet, the crew acknowledged clearance for runway 22. Shortly thereafter, the approach controller observed that the aircraft's altitude was insufficient and attempted to intervene; however, communication was impossible as the crew had already transitioned to the tower frequency.
During the short final phase of the flight, the aircraft impacted treetops and caught fire in a coconut grove located 2.1 km before the threshold of runway 22. The impact and subsequent post-crash fire resulted in 183 fatalities, including eight crew members. Of the total occupants on board, 79 individuals were successfully rescued.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified several critical errors regarding flight procedures and cockpit management. The crew did not adhere to established approach protocols and failed to properly monitor available instruments for altitude and descent rate awareness. Specifically, the co-pilot did not provide necessary call-outs regarding altitude and sink rate, while the captain failed to execute a missed approach when the runway became obscured from view.
Technical and environmental factors also played a role in the disaster. The aircraft maintained an excessive sink rate throughout much of the descent. It was noted that the radio altimeter bug on the captain's panel may have been incorrectly set to 150 feet, which likely prevented the activation of GPWS audiovisual warnings and altitude lights that would have otherwise triggered at 250 feet. Additionally, a down draught likely hindered the pilot's ability to recover the aircraft after the low altitude was realized.