Incident
An Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, chartered to transport 28,938 kg of humanitarian aid from Billund, Denmark to Kabul, Afghanistan, departed Billund at 18:00 and landed in Baku, Azerbaijan for refueling. Visibility at Kabul was reported as 3,000 m, with a forecast worsening to 1,200 m between 00:00 and 06:00 due to snow and haze. However, the minima for Kabul Airport were a visibility of 5,000 m and a cloud base at 450 m. The captain departed Baku despite this.
As the aircraft approached Kabul, the weather was reported as wind 340° at 4 kts, visibility 2,000 m, 1–2 octas clouds at 480 m, 5–7 octas clouds at 3,000 m, and QNH 1,020 hPa. During the approach, low clouds moved in from the north. Visibility became limited to 500 m in fog, and the wind direction changed. The crew were not informed of these changes. The approach continued, and flaps and gear were selected down. At decision height, spoilers were extended and descent continued. The captain ordered spoilers retraction, but this was not carried out. At a height of 310 m and 4,230 m short of runway 29 threshold, flaps were selected to 43°. The aircraft was 365 m right of the extended centerline. It descended below the glideslope and contacted the ground 910 m short of the runway threshold at 230 km/h.
The left undercarriage was destroyed and separated. The lower aft fuselage and cargo door were severely damaged, and pressure in hydraulic systems no. 1 and no. 2 fell. The crew applied takeoff power, retracted spoilers, and selected flaps back to 30°. The aircraft climbed away, and the captain decided to head for Termez, Uzbekistan, but that airport was closed due to fog. They continued to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, made a low pass for controllers to observe damage, then carried out a forced landing.
Probable Cause
The following findings were identified: - Disturbance in the work of the command-supervisory composition of the "Airline Transport Incorporation" company, that led to the failure to present the crew with AIP information of the Republic of Afghanistan about the Kabul Airport minima and the special features of the approach to this airport, as presented in the "Jeppesen", valid on 30.12.04; - Decision making by crew and the decision to carry out an approach under below-minima conditions; unsatisfactory crew interaction during the final stage of the approach, which led to the loss of height, the failure to retract the spoilers, the descent below the established glide path, the collision of aircraft with a ground-based structure and the late spool-up of the engines to takeoff power; - Deficiencies in the weather support of the flight, in that the crew were not given a visibility forecast, which did not allow crew to estimate the level of hazard of a change in the meteorological conditions.