US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211
On 12 March 2018, US-Bangla flight 211 crashed during landing in Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. Killing 51 of 71 people on board including Captain Abid Sultan and First Officer Prithula Rashid. The aircraft was a 76 seater Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 manufactured in Canada.
US-Bangla flight 211. Photo: collected.
The captain was extremely experienced and he flew in and out of Kathmandu repeatedly, he knew the route he knew the plane better than anyone on that airline.
The Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu is at the foothills of the Himalayas and on high and uneven ground according to Pilot/Aviation analyst Sylvia Wrigley, ‘Pilots consider it as one of the most challenging airports in the world’. The Airport had two landing strips: the planes that approach the airport from south land on runway 0-2 and the planes that approach from the north land on 2-0.
Landing strips of the airport. Photo: collected.
The US-Bangla flight 211 was approaching to land on runway 0-2 but the aircraft wasn’t ready to land. The pilot didn’t see the runway and had overflown the entire runway. Upon seeing it the air traffic control of the airport redirects the aircraft to turn left and land on runway 2-0. But still the plane wasn’t lining up with the runway. The pilot couldn’t see the runway. When the first officer notices the runway the pilots make a last minute adjustment to try to line up with the runway. The plane flies recklessly off course towards the control tower of the airport flying it like a fighter jet. The captain tries and almost manages to line up with the runway. One wheel touches the runway and skids off the runway and bursts into flames 440 meters of the runway into a football field.
US-Bangla flight 211. Photo: collected.
A multinational commission consisting of the delegates from Nepal, Bangladesh and Canada representing the plane's manufacturer was formed to investigate the incident. According to one of the investigators Sunil Pradhan, ‘The aircraft was broken into two pieces, the fuselage was broken and most of the parts were engulfed in fire, post-catch fire and cockpit was completely smashed.’ The team was lucky that the cockpit voice recorder and aircraft’s flight data recorder escaped the fire and was sent to Ottawa for analysis by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board.
Investigators after seeing the reports ruled out a mechanical failure according to Sunil Pradhan, ‘The flight data recorder didn’t indicate any malfunction in the aircraft. So, we definitely could rule out any flight control problem,’ The data showed the captain made some severe inputs to his control column near the end of the flight. The investigators listened to the cockpit voice recorder, they found the captain smoking, breaking the standard operating procedures. Dr. Rajeeb Deo, one of the investigators said, ‘Smoking is strictly prohibited in the cockpit, so it was a gross violation by the captain.’
The captain's vocal pitch indicated that he was extremely agitated and stressed. Captain was emotionally unstable. He was stressed as he was told by one of his colleagues that he wasn't a good instructor, he was desperate to salvage his reputation. Moreover the captain hasn’t slept the whole night and was sleep deprived. The Captain had a history of depression. He was a pilot for the Bangladesh Airforce but was given force retirement as he was declared unfit to fly.
Investigators finally have a clear picture of what happened on board. Distraction caused the captain to mismanage the approach, consumed by his need to prove to the first officer that he is a good pilot, the captain ignored warning signs that he was not ready for landing. The captain flies the plane in circles and tries to make an impossible landing because of his sheer desperation and wanting to land at any cost.
The investigators concluded that it was a human error that contributed to the cause of this US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 accident. The captain totally mismanaged the flight.
In the investigation report the investigators recommend that pilots who have been grounded for medical reasons be given thorough physical and physiological examinations before their license can be renewed.
(For more information watch National Geographic’s Air Crash Investigations S21E06 ‘Meltdown over Kathmandu’ and read ‘Final Report on The Accident Investigation of US Bangla Airlines, Bombardier (UBG-211), DHC-8-402, S2-AGU, at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal’).